Fire and Ice
by TheMoonclaw
Summary: Rydia didn't like Izayoi. And the worst part was, she didn't really know why. And now was not the best time to figure out. They had to save the world, after all...again.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

**Disclaimer, blah blah, do I really need to? You all know I don't own any of this. If I did, I'd be rich, laughing all the way to the bank. And things would be different. Isn't that the point of fanfiction? To make stuff up?**

**ANYWAY, this is...ugh...this is something I wrote that somehow ended up being so long that I have spilt it into 3 parts...I know, I know...I blame everyone on this site for writing this, as well.**

**Quick note, though, I haven't actually played the After Years, so if something seems off, that's probably why. That, or I decided to change it.**

**Having said all that, read on.**

* * *

Wind whipped Rydia's hair around her face and made her squint, whooshing past her ears in a deafening roar.

The wind was the only thing she didn't like about traveling by airship. Her hair was already a tangled mess without the wind's helping hand, and it always left her in a bad mood later when she sorted through the knots.

Today, however, she was _already_ in a bitter mood.

When she woke up a few mornings ago she hadn't expected any of this to happen, and so far, things had gone from bad to worse.

The summoner was glad for Luca's presence, feeling a little better that she didn't have to face this entirely alone. Especially after what had happened to her Eidolons.

She'd never felt more alone in her life.

Even after Mist's destruction, there had always been a connection with the land of magic deep within the Underworld. It was a stability that she could always count on, something to tether her to reality.

But now, since the Eidolons had been turned to stone, that connection was gone. Rydia couldn't feel the magical land anymore, nor could she feel the Eidolons. Even her magic hadn't been working properly since the incident.

The loneliness frightened her more then she wanted to admit, even to herself.

"We're almost to the tower, but…" Luca called, drawing her attention, "I don't know, do you see that weird glowing? I'm not sure I want to get all that close. Cid will kill me if I ding the _Falcon_."

Rydia stood next to the dwarf princess turned apprentice engineer and squinted at the Tower of Babil.

"I don't just see it, I feel it. What is that?" she said, hugging herself.

Luca shook her head, at a loss for words.

Rydia was about to ask the newest addition to their traveling party when the airship shook a little.

"Sorry, there is turbulence this close," the pink clad girl explained.

She shook her head, "Its fine, but maybe you-"

There was a loud '_bang_' that cut her off.

They both exchanged a glance, confused, and she turned around to find out what had just hit them.

Before she could take in any information, there was a flash of blue and the sound of a weapon being drawn.

Rydia had faced down many threats in her life; dragons, fire, deranged beings from the moon, archfiends, varies magical spells and weird gelatin monsters.

But she had never been threatened at point blank range by a sword before. The swiftness in which it had appeared before her caught her off guard, and she was torn between wanting to bat the thing away from her neck or remain perfectly still. She opted for a bit of both and, despite her magic being on the fritz the last few days, gathered the familiar power for a spell.

"Whoa, Izayoi, wrong target."

Rydia wanted to glance towards the familiar voice but she got the feeling she shouldn't move.

The woman's dark eyes flicked to the side, "Are you certain?"

"Yes," Edge said, slipping over and manually lowering the blade with his hand, "I think I know the real Rydia when I see her."

The woman gave her one more appraising look and then took a step back and sheathed her weapon. Rydia exhaled and glared at her before turning to Edge.

"What are you doing here?" they both asked.

He frowned, "Interesting story,"

"It usually is with you," she retorted.

He looked like he wanted to argue that point and then thought better of it shaking his head slightly, "Yes, well, I'm sure yours is equally interesting,"

Luca waved from the steering well when he looked at her, "Hello!"

"Hi Luca, as lovely as ever I see."

Rydia rolled her eyes and then looked around, "Where did you come from?"

She hadn't been paying attention and so missed how he had even made it on board.

Edge took his narrowed eyes off the mysterious stranger they had picked up not too long ago and turned back to her, "Huh? Oh, the Tower of Babil."

He stated it as if that made perfect sense, but she just felt more confused, "How-"

He cut her off and gestured widely to the others, including the dark haired woman who had tried to killed her, "First things first,"

He touched her shoulder to spin her around but then jumped a little, "Ouch,"

She winced and let the magic she had gathered ebb, "Sorry, reflex."

He nodded and then successfully turned her around on the second try, "From left to right; Gekkou, Zangestu, Tsukinowa and Izayoi."

In turn he gestured to her, "And everyone, this is High Summoner Rydia."

"_That's_ Rydia?" the youngest, Tsukinowa, said, looking her up and down. "I totally get it now!"

She frowned, "Get what?"

"Ignore him," Edge said hastily while Zangestu elbowed the boy.

Still puzzled and trying to come to terms with everything that had just happened, she blinked a couple times before looking at Izayoi, "Wait, who did you think I was?"

"The woman in the tower. She has a similar aura to yours, not to mention the striking resemblance."

Rydia's brow furrowed and then she gasped, "The blue haired woman?"

"Yes,"

Edge shrugged one shoulder, "We ran into her in the tower."

"I ran into her in the Underworld," she added, crossing her arms, "She's powerful."

"She can summon Eidolons."

Rydia flinched, and the action didn't go unnoticed by Edge, who gave her a look, which she pretended to ignored.

However, he pulled on her arm at the same time as walking away, calling over his shoulder, "You four, make yourselves useful. Ask Luca if she needs help."

As an afterthought, he glanced at the white haired man and added, "Watch him."

He drug her to the other end of the ship, and she covered up her distress with an annoyed half-glare.

"What happened?"

She frowned, thinking he was impatient as always.

"I told you, I saw her too, in the Underworld."

Edge shook his head, "No, with the Eidolons."

She bit her lip and looked away, not feeling up to talking about that subject quite yet, "It's…complicated. But, I know she has the ability to summon, like I do."

He touched her arm gently, "I know you better then that."

She flinched again, wishing for the moment that he _didn't_ know her so well.

"What happened?"

Rydia sighed sadly, and turned away, grasping the railing for support and closing her eyes.

"I went to the Feymarch,"

She didn't need to see his reaction to know what it was and she defended herself quickly, "I know, it was foolish to think they would change their minds, but…I missed them so terribly, and I had to try, just once more. I…argued with Asura and Leviathan but…I don't know, they sensed something even if I didn't and tried to transport me out of there."

A single tear slid down her cheek and she angrily brushed it away, having spent enough time crying already.

"She did…something to them. _All _of them. I-I can't feel them, or talk to them or summon them. They're all statues, as if she removed their very souls."

All over again the guilt and apprehension threatened to eat her conscious alive. Just like so many years ago she was completely and utterly powerless to save those closest to her, and it _hurt _so much to lose them.

Rydia looked up and to her right; surprised her companion hadn't said anything. He looked troubled and sympathetic, but shook his head, "I…don't know what to say,"

"You? At a loss for words? The world really is coming to an end…" she remarked dryly, not having much humor left in her being but unable to rid herself of sarcasm completely.

Despite not knowing what to say, he did know what to do and pulled her into an embrace. Rydia sighed, and Edge murmured close to her ear, "We'll figure out a way to get them back, and to stop her."

"How can you be so sure?" she asked, not feeling nearly as confident as he seemed.

There was a pause and then, "Because, I'm me."

She giggled, unable to remain melancholy around him and gave him a sharp shove away, "Oh, of course, how silly of me to question something so _obvious_."

He grinned at her and she smiled, surprised he could get her to lighten up under the circumstances, but glad that he had.

She glanced over at the other members of the group on the airship deck and frowned, "Your turn. What happened to you and more importantly, who are _these_ people?"

Edge sighed and waved a hand at her, "Eh, long story. I'll tell you on the way."

* * *

The sound of cracking ice filled Troia's crystal room along with an eerie blue glow. Rydia cringed, bracing herself against the pillar she was hiding behind as the familiar attack was unleashed. She'd never been on _this_ side of Diamond Dust before, even when she had first gained Shiva as a summon, the icy woman never would have dreamed to use something that powerful in a bonding match.

The stone of the pillar felt colder after the attack, but luckily it had blocked it from harming them.

"We could use a plan," Gekkou pointed out.

Rydia glanced across the small gap between pillars and saw Izayoi roll her eyes, "Yes, and if you come up with one, let me know."

He didn't reply and she winced when another snapping sound announced a blizzard spell being thrown at them.

Shiva wasn't stupid, she would collapse the room to get to them if she had too, and Rydia knew that with how much ice and snow was already present, that task wouldn't be as hard as it seemed.

Rydia shut her eyes, "I can stop her,"

There was a pause and then Luca spoke up, "Are you sure?"

She wasn't questioning the summoner's ability, she was questioning if she wanted to do it.

Which, she didn't.

"Enough fire would weaken her, and if she's weakened, she'll get slower. Once that happens, we'll have a chance." she explained, glad for the lull in attacks so she didn't have to yell over them to those across the room.

They all braced again as another wave of icy spikes shattered against the pillars. Rydia watched a crack spread over the stone just as Izayoi spoke up again, "If we have a plan, then why are we waiting to use it? I doubt _she's_ going to wait."

Rydia hesitated.

Shiva was her friend, one of the first Eidolons she had ever met. It wasn't her fault that she was attacking, she was being forced to do it.

But that didn't change the fact that they were in danger, and that she might have already killed Palom, not to mention countless others when she froze the city.

Rydia jumped, startled, when someone touched her arm. She glanced to her side and Edge shook his head, "It's your decision. Whatever you decide to do, we'll do."

She closed her eyes, "No, Izayoi's right. Shiva won't wait around and…I don't see another option."

"Are you sure?"

He didn't sound thrilled with the idea either, but Rydia nodded all the same and then turned to look at the other black mage of their group, who nodded, understanding what the plan was.

It was simple enough, after all. The problem was getting close to Shiva when they were all the way in the back of the room.

But if Rydia hadn't already solved that problem, then she never would have gained the queen of winter as a summon in the first place.

Calling up the necessary magic, she silently apologized to the Feymarch and to Shiva for what she was about to do.

"Firaga!"

Instead of directing the attack at the Eidolon, the two mages sent it along either wall, effectively blocking all escape routes for her.

They continued to shorten the amount of space the ice woman had to work with by blocking off sections of the room with fire.

Unlike the last time she had fought Shiva, Rydia wasn't alone, and there were others that could use fire base attacks in their group. Under such an onslaught, it wasn't hard to believe that the ice Eidolon soon dropped to her knees, most of the her icy fortress melting around her.

Still, she tried to send a high level blizzard spell at them, but Rydia had already chanted another to block it and in the flames it melted into a harmless drizzle.

But then, the summoner took a moment to catch her breath, and in that moment, she saw her former Eidolon.

Wounded and bleeding, she wasn't making any more movements to attack, and another idea occurred to Rydia as she stared at her.

"Wait!" she said, grabbing Edge's arm before he could finish another flame spell.

"Why?" several people chorused at the same time.

Rydia shook her head and gestured to Shiva, still kneeling on the ground a few feet away, "Because, she's not attacking anymore! This is not her fault, I'm sure she just wants to be normal again!"

"And if you're wrong? You put all of us in danger on a slim hope based off your assumptions." Izayoi said, arrow still pointed at her target.

The green haired woman turned to look at her, "I'm not wrong."

"Rydia, I know you don't want to hurt her, but we shouldn't waste this chance. You already tried to talk to her and…" Luca trailed off, obviously upset at having to mention the last time they had tried to reason with the Eidolon and gotten blasted by Diamond Dust.

Rydia took a deep breath and pleaded once more, "Please, just let me try to talk to her! She stopped attacking us, we should at least try to save her, if we can."

She had directed her request to Edge, who was giving her that look that meant he didn't like this idea. Everyone else was waiting to hear what they had decided as well, when finally he sighed and nodded, "Fine, but if-"

"She won't." Rydia said quickly, sure that Shiva wasn't going to do anything. After all, somewhere in there was her friend.

Spells were extinguished and weapons lowered and the summoner breathed a sigh of relief before turning around to face the next problem.

Saving the Eidolon as she had convinced the others she could.

"Shiva?"

Her steps were cautious as she approached the woman, keeping her movements slow and easy to track so she didn't appear threatening.

But Shiva wasn't even looking up, she was holding her side and panting and it was then that Rydia noticed how wounded she really was.

"Oh…I'm so sorry, Shiva…" she whispered, tears coming to her eyes.

Still the icy woman didn't move, and Rydia stopped in front of her, "Shiva?"

She felt it a second before it happened; something shifting in the air as whatever dark hold over her Eidolon returned and sank its claws into her again.

Rydia spoke the first words of a spell at the same moment as Shiva's hand enclosed around her arm.

Her touch was so cold it burned and crystallized the skin.

"Fire!"

It was a low level spell, but enough to push her away and back to the ground. Rydia took a few steps back, gasping at the pain in her arm and marveling at the fact that she had been wrong; Shiva might have been too far gone to save after all.

All the weapons and spells were back in a second and unleashed at the Eidolon, who screamed.

The summoner squeezed her eyes shut and fell to her knees, cradling her arm and sobbing.

This was never supposed to happen. Whoever was behind all of this was cruel indeed.

Someone hugged her from behind and she didn't need to have her eyes open to know who it was when he whispered, "Rydia, I'm so sorry, but we-"

"I know," she replied softly.

She started to cry again, and finally opened her eyes to face the truth of the situation.

She was half surprised that Shiva wasn't dead yet, but she was so injured she couldn't move.

But her eyes were back to normal and didn't have any of the crazed light behind them that signaled the influence of dark magic.

And when their eyes met, Shiva wheezed a breath and whispered, "R-Rydia, I am s-sorry…"

The summoner shook her head, "No, I am."

Shiva smiled ever so slightly and Rydia tried to pull away to go to her, but Edge held her back making her turn to him, "Let me go."

"No, absolutely not! Did you not see what she did last time?" he argued.

"She's not going to hurt me again, she can't even move! We killed her, the least you could do is let me stay with her!" she snapped, more heartbroken then actually mad at him. He hesitated, and annoyed, she forcefully broke out of the embrace and knelt before her Eidolon.

"Oh Shiva, I'm so sorry…" she whispered, sliding her hand over one of Shiva's, "Can you forgive me?"

"Y-you didn't do anything wrong," the woman replied, voice hoarse.

A few tears slid from Rydia's eyes and landed on Shiva's neck and cheek, and her expression softened, "Oh dear one…"

Shiva reached a hand to brush aside the others, but they both heard the sound of a bowstring being pulled back which made Rydia glare over her shoulder at Izayoi.

"Put that away," she snapped.

The woman didn't move, "I don't take orders from you."

"Izayoi, put that away." Edge echoed from a feet paces away.

She complied and Rydia turned back to her summon as she felt her chilly hand touch her cheek, "Don't be sad, dearest Rydia. Don't you see? I should thank you for freeing me from that vile woman's hold."

The summoner shut her eyes, more tears leaking out, "But I-I killed you!"

There was a weak laugh, "Ah, but Eidolons don't die, do we? She doesn't follow the Laws of Summoning, we aren't bonded to her."

Rydia's eyes snapped open, "Then, if you give me your name again I can release you to the Feymarch and you'll be fine!"

Shiva smiled sadly, "I can't ask you to take my name, not after what I've done."

"Oh, don't be silly!" she argued, taking the hand on her cheek and squeezing it between her own, "Please, Shiva, I don't want to lose you. I _can't_ lose you. As High Summoner I ask you for your name so I can save you."

They stared at each other for a moment and then the icy woman closed her eyes and sighed, "Then you have it."

Rydia smiled and leaned down to whisper, "Shiva, I release thee to the Feymarch."

As the magic took effect, the Eidolon Shiva faded from sight and her summoner sagged back in relief. She felt exhausted, both physically and emotionally.

"Hey! Where's that ice woman?"

Everyone turned towards the voice to see Palom, who looked disheveled and put out, sitting up and looking around.

"Palom!" Luca called cheerfully.

Beside him the blonde girl stirred and he turned his attention to her, looking as worried as Palom ever was.

Rydia smiled slightly, pleased that he was alright, which meant that others frozen by the diamond crystals Shiva used would also recover.

For the first time in weeks the summoner felt like things might turn out alright.

* * *

Once it was assured that everyone was alright, including Palom and Leonora, they made their way back out of the cave. Once they were close to the _Falcon_ Rydia slipped away from everyone and went to sleep. She was terribly tired and she had a feeling that no one would mind anyway. Especially since Palom and Leonora were also in need of rest. They had decided to head off towards Mysidia next since the black mage said he couldn't tell if his sister was alright. It was making him, and for some reason Tsukinowa, worried about her so they picked that as their next stop.

Rydia fell asleep easily considering she could now feel a twinge of the Feymarch again thanks to her connection with Shiva. It not only proved there was a way to save everyone but also that the queen of winter had survived and was recovering. That was enough to make her summoner smile.

Rydia was awakened by something pressing against the frost burn on her forearm. She opened her eyes groggily and hissed slightly at the pain.

Edge glanced up from rubbing some sort of cream on her arm to say quietly, "Go back to sleep."

She frowned and watched him for a second before mumbling, "What is that stuff?"

It smelled okay, but she wasn't entirely sure she wanted it applied to her wounds when she didn't know what it was. Besides, they didn't have a white mage around and she wasn't sure Edge had any idea what he was doing.

"Go back to sleep." he repeated.

Her frown deepened, "Being a king has made you bossy,"

A smile slipped and he shot her a brief look, in turn making her smile. There was a pause and he continued to treat her arm, making her wince a few times.

"That was really stupid, by the way." he finally commented.

Rydia sighed, "What was?"

"Walking that close to her. You could have gotten yourself killed." Edge chided.

The hilarity of the situation suddenly hit the summoner and she started giggling. He sighed and asked, "What is so funny?"

"This!" she said in between laughs, "The role reversal. For once I've gone and done something impulsive and you have to lecture me about it!"

He chuckled as well and she grinned at him, "Its hard work being the responsible one, isn't it?"

Edge rolled his eyes, "Yes, it is, and I don't like it at all. Next time I get to do the stupid thing and you can get back to lecturing. You're better at it anyway."

She smiled, but it slowly faded as he finished binding her arm until she swallowed and admitted quietly, "I am sorry, though."

"You don't need to worry about that. Your Eidolons are your family, and no one can blame you for wanting to save them." Edge told her.

She trusted him to tell her the truth, especially about something like this, but his words didn't entirely remove her guilt.

"Still, Izayoi was right. I was wrong and I did put everyone in danger."

He shrugged and laid her arm with the other one that was resting across her mid section, "I'm not mad, and neither is anyone else for that matter, so just forget it."

Rydia blinked a few times and then worked up her courage to say, "Speaking of Izayoi…she seems…invested quite a bit in battles."

She couldn't think of any nice way to put into words how much the woman annoyed her with her domineering attitude, especially during battles.

Edge rolled his eyes and stood up, "She's just way over protective of me."

"Why?" Rydia asked, not liking that answer.

He flicked her forehead, "Because, I do stupid things, remember?"

She giggled and he shrugged, half turning away, "It's not just her, either. It's all four of them."

She watched him walk away although he stopped at the bottom of the steps and glanced back at her, "Now, for the third time, go back to sleep."

"Wake me up when we get to Mysidia?"

"Yes."

Rydia sighed and rolled over, deciding to take his advice and try and rest as long as she could.

* * *

**Okay, that's part one. How did this get so long? Can someone please tell me?**

**I may not have played this game(that's what happens when you don't own any newer systems), but I did watch YouTube videos of pretty much all of it and read a walkthrough and the wiki page, which I'm sure is about 80% correct. But this game bothers me. There's a ton of great ideas...but that's all it is. Ideas. Ideas that the game devlopers threw in a blender, pushed the high setting and poured us out a game. Thus, I shall add to it and fill in the blanks.**

**Also, I'm sort of surprised no one has thought to do a fic about this already?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Look, part two...and no, I'm not putting another disclaimer up.**

* * *

The sky was even gloomier this evening then the night before, and Rydia found its colors to be depressing.

The beds below deck were continuing to grow with those they rescued that insisted on coming with them. Everyone from Gilbert's assistant to the twin mages from Mysidia.

Not only did their presence and well being make Rydia feel lighter, but the added strength of having most of her Eidolons with her again made her break into a smile for no reason.

Even if the world was growing dimmer by the moment, she no longer felt hopeless. They had a chance to save the world.

Again.

Scanning the _Falcon_, she watched everyone for a moment.

Tsukinowa had just disappeared back below, where he'd been spending a large amount of his time. She had noticed it was mostly centered around a certain pink haired mage.

Zangestu was chatting with Luca, who still flew their ship with all the practice ease they expected.

Gekkou was discussing something that looked important with the mysterious man whom Rydia still hadn't decided to trust yet or not. She figured that was probably what Gekkou was currently deciding himself.

Izayoi and Edge were a little ways away from her, talking although she couldn't make out what they were saying.

But whatever it was, Izayoi was as calm as ever. Rydia found her personality in need of some work, if you could call it a personality. She was always so even and controlled that she seemed insincere and a little cold.

The summoner frowned and leaned into the railing of the _Falcon_, continuing to watch them.

The dark haired woman touched Edge's arm, although it looked more like a poke, and he frowned at her.

Rydia's eyes narrowed at the two of them when Izayoi leaned forward to whisper something in his ear.

The summoner didn't like her being that close, especially when she had finished murmuring, she shot him a playful smirk which was the most character she had ever shown.

As for Edge, he looked more annoyed with her than anything, and slightly embarrassed.

Having seen plenty, she looked away and focused on the darkening sky. Obviously the two of them were very close, and although it surprised her, she supposed it shouldn't.

Truthfully she felt more ashamed then anything.

Shouldn't she be happy for him?

He was her best friend that didn't live in the Feymarch, and they'd known each other for _years_. In that time Rydia was actually surprised he hadn't ever gotten married, not that she invested much time in thinking about such things, of course.

But still, Izayoi was very skilled and beautiful, and she appeared to be extremely loyal, too.

She may not have been Rydia's favorite person in the world, but that could have just been because when they first met the woman tried to kill her.

With a sigh the summoner felt another stab of guilt; she should be happy for him instead of…whatever she was. She'd never felt this way and couldn't seem to figure out what it was.

Laying her chin on her hands, she watched another meteorite streak through the sky.

* * *

The doors were heavier then they looked and it took all five ninjas to finally slam the things shut.

Rydia breathed a sigh relief that ended with a cringe as they heard Ifrit collide with them on the other side.

"Okay," Edge said, trying to catch his breath, "any ideas?"

She checked her hands that were burned from trying to open another door a few minutes ago, "Same as the other Eidolons, we have to stop him somehow."

"How did you do it last time?" Tsukinowa asked, eyes wide.

Rydia sighed again, "By tiring him out first."

"He chased us around the whole castle! I'm pretty sure he's not getting tired," the boy argued, waving a hand back at the door.

"I know," she said, frowning.

Izayoi shifted her weight to one foot and crossed her arms, "If we could summon enough water and ice, maybe we could get through that fire barrier he has up."

"Unlikely if last time we tried was anything to go by," Edge remarked, rubbing his shoulder.

There were a few noises from the back of the throne room and a few people carefully drew their weapons.

Before they could any move, someone peeked out from behind the throne, dagger in hand.

The old man's eyes lit up, "Your young highness!"

"Seneschal," Edge sighed, sounding relieved and sheathing his weapon.

"Where have you been!" the old man asked, sounding exasperated.

"What happened?" Edge shot back gesturing to one of the free standing fires.

He crossed his arms, "I asked first."

Rydia snickered, although she tried to hid it behind a hand, it still drew the attention of the seneschal.

He looked at her suspiciously, "Aren't you…?"

She sighed, fed up with having to explain that she was not the same person as the blue haired maiden.

Edge rolled his eyes too, showing he felt much the same, "No, not her."

"Are you certain?" the old man question, glaring at her, "Can't she also call those….things?"

Rydia glared back at him, not liking what he was implying or the dirty look he was giving her.

Before she could defend herself, Gekkou stepped up, "Seneschal, I can personally assure you that this is not the same woman as the one who seeks the crystals. I trust High Summoner Rydia with my life and it has been an honor to fight alongside her."

She glanced at him, surprised by the high praise and a little flattered, too. He caught her eye and she smiled, mouthing, 'thank you'.

He nodded and they both returned their attention to the old man who as already on something else.

"Well fine, maybe she can help us get rid of that beast, then!"

Tsukinowa had his ear pressed against the door, "Actually, he's gone I think."

"Probably off to terrorize some other part of the castle!" the seneschal said frantically, before adding in a more rueful tone, "And I feel like we just rebuilt it…"

Edge sighed, looking more amused then annoyed, and waved his hands, "Hey, focus, would you?"

The man looked up and then narrowed his eyes, "Yes, focus on the fact that you didn't tell anyone where you were going! _Again! _You _promised_ you wouldn't do that anymore."

Rydia put her hands on her hips, "You didn't tell anyone?"

"He didn't," Zangestu added, "we all got back and just guessed he was in the tower."

"Which he was, alone." Izayoi said, frowning.

Edge rolled his eyes and leaned his head back, "I'm sorry, okay? Stop nagging me."

"I'll nag you as much as I want. That was really stupid," Rydia said.

The seneschal nodded his head rapidly, "Yes, yes, listen to her."

"Five seconds ago you didn't trust her!" Edge shot back, indignant.

The man sighed dramatically, and Gekkou cleared his throat, "We still have Ifrit to deal with."

Everyone fell silent and Rydia wracked her brain to try and come up with something that could stop the fire Eidolon, but nothing came to mind. So long as he had the barrier of flame up, there was no way to reach him, and if their weapons and spells couldn't touch him, they didn't have a chance.

"Did you try throwing something at him?" seneschal asked.

Edge shook his head, "It melted before it even got close." He frowned, "I liked that sword, too."

Rydia swallowed, "Maybe I should try to talk to him again, I know he doesn't want to do this, so maybe I can free him from her hold."

"No," Edge said quickly, gazing sharply at her, "You tried to talk to him and he sent a wave of fire at you."

"I know, but-"

"_No_," he repeated firmly.

She frowned at him, wondering why he was acting so forceful all of a sudden, when he suggested the worst idea she had heard in a long time.

"I'll go fight him."

Everyone in the room stared at him blankly.

"You'll what?" the seneschal said, looking dubious.

Edge sighed, "We don't have another plan, and the longer we wait, the more people are in danger of getting killed by him."

"But you can't go alone," Rydia argued, walking a few steps closer to him, "What are you going to do that we can't together?"

He surprised her by taking her hand, "But I see how much it hurts you, to have to fight against your Eidolons. This time…I don't think we can save Ifrit."

She blinked, "Then, all the more reason I should go. If we have to…stop him, then I should be the one to do it."

His grip tightened around her hand, "And never forgive yourself for it?"

Suddenly she got the idea that this wasn't completely about _her_ anymore, although she didn't doubt his sincerity in wanting to protect her.

"The High Summoner is right," Zangestu added from the other side of the room, making Tsukinowa nod, "She always is."

Izayoi shook her head, "I don't like the idea of you going alone. We are better if we stay together."

"Listen to them," Rydia pleaded, "they're right. Going alone is a death sentence and…you're much too important to die."

"I have a plan, okay?" he said, trying to sound light.

Rydia shook her head in disbelief, "No you don't! You never have a plan,"

He sighed and relented, "Okay, so I don't, but that doesn't change the fact that you're staying here."

She opened her mouth to say no, but he clamped his hand over her mouth, leaning forward a little to mutter, "No, you stay, Rydia. Don't you dare follow me. _Stay here_."

Looking up he called, "You four, stay here and make sure she's safe, got it?"

It took them a moment to answer, and they didn't sound thrilled by it, but agreed to follow the order.

Edge released her so abruptly she took a step back, still fuming that he _dared_ to tell her what to do. He ran towards the door without another word.

"Edge, get back here!" Rydia yelled as loudly as she possibly could, but it was obvious he was ignoring her as he slipped through the double doors. She growled and tightened her hands into fist. She was half tempted to stomp her foot and she might have, had she been alone.

"This is a horrible plan!" she said, spinning around to face the others in the room.

Tsukinowa nodded, "Yeah, it is."

"And your okay with it?" she snapped, throwing open her hands.

"No," Zangestu amended, "we're just used to it."

Rydia rolled her eyes.

There was no way Edge going off _alone_ to fight Ifrit was going to end well, and she was so _angry_ with him for even suggesting it.

What, exactly, was he thinking?

She didn't know, but she was resolved to ignore his orders of staying here. Besides, she didn't _have_ to listen to him, king or not.

Striding to the door she skirted the small fires that were still magical burning and rapidly tried to think up her own plan so she wouldn't do the very thing she was accusing him of doing.

"Where are you going?" Izayoi asked from behind her.

Rydia stopped and glanced over her shoulder to glare at the woman, "_I'm_ not staying here, and I'm surprised you four are!"

"He told us too," Tsukinowa replied, shrugging.

Izayoi nodded and the summoner opened her mouth to recite that old line about jumping off a cliff if someone told you too, but then thought better of it when she remembered they actually _had_ jumped off the Tower of Babil.

Instead she spun back around and groaned, "I should have known better then to ask you four for help!"

She took another step and then stopped, a new thought coming to mind. Slowly she turned back, her expression coy.

"Didn't Edge also order you too make sure I was okay?"

Gekkou nodded, "That he did."

She smirked, placing one hand on her hip, "Well, then, I'm going outside to fight that big fiery monster that is twice my size. Anyone think it's safe?"

Tsukinowa grinned, "Loop hole!"

"Loop hole," Zangestu agreed.

Izayoi, however, frowned, "But-"

"_You_ don't have to come," Rydia snapped, tossing one last glare at her before hurrying for the door.

She didn't bother checking to see if they were following her, she trusted that they were. But before they entered the courtyard, Izayoi grabbed her arm with surprising strength and forestalled her movement.

They other three gave them both strange looks but the dark haired woman bent down to whisper so they couldn't hear, "I'm not sure why it is that you don't like me, but rest assured that you can trust me, and that I would do anything to protect master Edge, including die for him."

Rydia yanked her arm free, "That I know, so make yourself useful."

She didn't like what Izayoi was implying and so decided to ignore her.

They rushed through a few corridors and reached the courtyard in a matter of minutes, although a burst of wind pulled smoke straight towards them, making everyone cough a few times. Rydia squinted against the onslaught and scanned the area, finally spotting Ifrit. Before she could point him out to the others, they heard a high pitched scream as the fire Eidolon stomped towards a group of people who were trapped by a wall behind them.

"What is your plan, High Summoner?" Gekkou asked.

She didn't take her eyes off the creature and paused in her chanting to reply, "First off, stop calling me that, second, save those people."

She unleashed a blizzaga spell and wove the words to create a wall of ice instead of projectiles.

Ifrit roared in annoyance and they dashed over to the people who were cowering behind the fragile shield.

"What's happening?" one asked, her eyes wide.

Rydia glanced over her shoulder, "Bad things! Run!"

They didn't need to be told twice and took off towards the nearest door. But the moment directed the Eidolon's gaze and he moved to follow.

"Izayoi," she said, making the other woman turn to her, "you make mirages, right?"

"…Yes,"

"Could you make a target other than those people to draw Ifrit's attention?"

The woman seemed annoyed by the question, and Rydia sighed, adding, "I know you don't take orders from me but just this once could you do what I say?"

She didn't reply, but began to draw a pattern in the air that Rydia assumed was to do what she asked. She rolled her eyes and turned to the others, "After he's distracted, then we can attack him. Although I'm still working on figuring out how to hurt him…"

Suddenly a shiver went down her spine and she froze, blinking a few times. That was a sensation she hadn't felt in years, and it made her worry.

"High Summoner, are you alright?" Zangestu asked, tipping his head to one side.

Ignoring the fact that she already told them to stop calling her that, she nodded and then looked up at one of the towers.

"Can you four handle Ifrit for just a second? I have…a bad feeling that something is up in that tower worse then the rouge Eidolon."

Tsukinowa frowned, "If you feel something bad, chances are master Edge is there."

"Exactly my thoughts," she answered, glancing back at them.

Izayoi, having completed the illusions, spoke up, "We can keep the monster busy and away from harming others."

"Good, I'll be back as quickly as I can."

Without another word she made her way across the charred grass towards where she assumed the staircase was to head up the spire.

"Be careful!" Tsukinowa called after her.

She had every intention to do so, but if this feeling was what she thought it was, careful might not be an option.

The feeling was one of powerful magic, one that made her skin crawl.

Her boots tapped rhythmically on the stairs as she followed the path to the top. Finally she came to a door and grasp the handle, only to yank her hand back with a hiss.

"Second time…" she grumbled, annoyed by the fresh burns.

She would have to talk to Edge about all these metal doors in his castle.

Using a little ice to cool the door down first, she pulled it open and flinched back, away from the fire that threatened to hit her.

Rydia usually thought things through before doing them. She liked to think she was a reasonably cautious person.

But when she saw the scene before her, she ignored her common sense and ran out onto the balcony, charging an ice spell.

"Back off unless you want a face full of blizzaga!"

Rydia was glad she sounded far more confident then she felt, with the spell's aura lighting her hands, staring defiantly at the Archfiend of Fire.

Rubicante, however, didn't look the least bit worried.

"Ah, the summoner arrives." he said.

She glared at him, wondering if that was supposed to sound as sarcastic as it did. She didn't even want to know why he was here, she'd fought him two too many times already in her life and she wasn't eager for a third round.

The blizzaga spell was cast, and as expected, the fiend of fire just raised his arm and flicked it away.

But it had distracted him momentarily and in that second, she had uncoiled her whip and lashed it, striking him square in the face as soon as he lowered his arm.

Antagonizing the Archfiend was probably not the smartest thing to do and she took a step back afterwards.

Rubicante sighed, sounding more annoyed then ready to strike back and she risked a glance at Edge, who was kneeling on the floor beside her.

"Are you alright?" she asked, noticing without his answer that he wasn't.

"I told you to stay behind,"

"Did you really think I'd listen?"

He closed his eyes and sighed heavily, "Fine, it's your funeral."

Rydia looked back to their opponent and tightened the grip on the handle of her whip.

Noticing this, the fiend spoke again, "I'm not here to fight."

"Forgive me if I don't believe you," she snapped.

He ignored her, "Remember what I've said if you want to stop Ifrit."

Rydia made a face and glanced at Edge again, confused and feeling like she missed something, but then her attention was diverted when Rubicante shifted his gaze to her, "The two of you are a prefect match. Where one is order, the other is chaos."

She didn't know what he was getting at, but he didn't give her a chance to ask anything and swept his arm outward, sending a wall of fire at the two of them.

Rydia recoiled, surprised when she didn't feel any burns. Opening her eyes, she saw that the fire had indeed surrounded them, but it didn't threaten to harm them at all. After a second the flames died on their own and were reduced to embers.

There was no sign of the Fiend of Fire, and she shook herself out of a daze to kneel beside Edge.

"Are you alright?" she asked, resting her hand on his arm.

He winced, "Yeah, I'm okay."

"Drink this," she ordered, shoving a potion into his hands before standing and hurrying over to the wall of the balcony, leaning forward to look below.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

She continued to scan the area below, "Looking for Ifrit. I left the Eblan Four in charge of keeping him busy."

"You did _what_?"

Rydia whipped around and pointed accusingly at him, "Oh I'm sorry, I was a little busy coming up here to save your sorry skin!"

She sprinted for the stairway, "Now come on, we have an Eidolon to stop."

He followed her, scolding, "I told you to stay inside, and although I honestly didn't expect you to listen, I'm not about to let you go fight him!"

"You'd rather run off alone?" she retorted, boots clanking on each stone stair they hit.

Edge grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop, "I'd rather keep you safe!"

She closed her mouth, suddenly not in the mood to continue the argument.

"Do you have a plan to stop him?" he asked her seriously.

She shook her head, "Not at the moment, no…do you?"

He released her arm and frowned, "I don't know…something Rubicante said got me thinking…but I don't really know if-"

Suddenly the tower they were in rocked violently and tossed them into one of the walls.

Rydia cringed, worried it might collapse on them.

The quake finished and Edge pulled her upright again, leading the way without words back down the staircase.

"What did he say?" she asked as they ran.

"Something about fire fighting fire."

The summoner was dubious, "A terrible idea, his innate element is fire. The last thing we want to do is feed him."

They exited the tower and shrunk back as a tumble of rocks fell in front of them, kicking up dust.

Ifrit loomed of to one side, roaring to the sky and needlessly toppling any buildings near him.

Just as before, no weapons could get close without melting and all magical attacks made little difference against the barrier of heat surrounding him.

Rydia's eyes filled with tears and she covered her mouth with her hands as he smacked Tsukinowa a few feet away with just a flick of his hand. The boy got to his feet, but without some plan to stop him they were doomed.

"Maybe it's the way you use the fire…" he muttered.

Rydia glanced at him, "What?"

"Never mind, just get ready to fight since he's headed over here."

She did as she was told and held her whip in one hand while she extended the other and shouted, "Bio!"

The spell had little effect on the Eidolon, just as ice hadn't done any damage.

Ifrit's flaming arm swung towards them and she ducked, hearing the sound of metal scraping _something_.

When the shadow overhead was gone she looked up and saw the fire Eidolon lumbering away from them.

Edge tossed a partially melted katana away, "I think I nicked him, but at this rate I'm going to run out of weapons."

"Master!"

They both turned towards the call and met the Eblan Four in the middle of the courtyard, where they began to report on everything that had happened the last few minutes.

"Frost and Flood have had little effect, and both Zangestu and I have lost our blades." Izayoi said, armed now with a bow.

Tsukinowa shook his head, "I can run circles around him but it's not going to do any good if I can't hit him. I don't even want to try Gale. Everyone knows wind makes flames grow."

"It would seem we are low on options." Zangestu added.

Rydia had been listening, but she had also been keeping an eye on Ifrit and now saw him turn towards them, the fires along his back shifting between green, purple and red.

Her eyes widened, "Hellfire!"

There wasn't time to explain and she just shouted at the others, "Get behind me!"

The Eidolon was faster with his magic, but she wove her words to a different meaning and threw up a barricade of ice just as the flames spiraled at them.

Her blizzard was no match and the ice crackled, melted, and shattered, sending the six of them skidding across the ground while frost and sparks rained down around them. Rydia blacked out for a spilt second as she hit the ground, but then came too with a groan, vision taking a moment to focus. When it did, she saw that Ifrit was still as strong as ever, but he had used quite a large portion of his magic to try and kill them and needed time to recharge.

If they were going to strike him, it had to be now.

"Are you okay?" Edge asked, sitting up next to her and holding his ribs.

She nodded and struggled to her knees, "I think so…"

The others were in similar shape and slowly retrieved their weapons from the ground around them.

"Do you trust me?" he asked suddenly, catching her off guard.

"What?"

"Do you trust me?" he repeated quickly, one eye on the fire beast.

Rydia blinked and brushed her singed bangs off her forehead, "Of course I trust you, but-"

"Cast fire, as strong as you can."

She wondered if that toss had given him brain damage.

"You want me to use fire on a fire Eidolon?"

Edge sighed and looked at her fully, "Listen to me, water and ice can't take down his barrier, but a spell woven correctly with fire will burn it out."

She still stared at him so he made an annoyed sound and kept talking while he got to his feet, "When we fought Rubicante all those years ago, he used Inferno to _heal_ himself, didn't he? But how did that fire make it past his cloak? Didn't that protect him?"

She blinked, "They canceled each other out, like two mages casting thunder at each other. The magic is rendered null and they have to start over."

"Exactly." he said, nodding.

She took a deep, shuddering breath, "But, there is-"

"Trust me," he said, holding out his hand.

Rydia hesitated for only a second and then let him pull her to her feet, "Just what are you suggesting Edge? That I cast firaga at him?"

"No, we need something stronger and less…um…_composed_."

Puzzled, she opened her mouth to ask something and he waved off her unspoken comment, "If you can set aside fear and merely use your willpower, you can literally fabricate magic into anything you want." he explained.

Her eyes widened, "No offense, but your magic isn't really _predictable_, are you sure you want to pour that much into it? What if you lose control?"

"That's why I need _your_ help," he said, "your magic is calm, stable."

Rydia just stared at him, "Our magic isn't compatible, this isn't like two white mages merging a spell for increased healing, this is…" she trailed off and glanced Ifrit, whose flames were nearly restored.

"That's why I need to know if you trust me, Rydia." Edge said, holding out his hand again, "If you do, then I think this could work."

At it's core, the theory was sound.

Her black magic was smooth and serene, his ninjustu was wild and frantic, in theory those two opposing forces would either cancel each other out, or balance each other into something new.

But there were so many variables, and to test it here, in the heat of battle, was not Rydia's idea of fun.

Still, he had merely asked if she trusted him, and she knew that she did, without any doubt.

Rydia took his hand and asked, "What do you want me to do?"

"Cast fire, as much as you can, and pray that this works."

She closed her eyes and chanted the necessary words, fingers interlocking on one hand with his. At first, she wasn't sure anything was happening, but then, like a jolt, she felt it.

Another form of magic, one that was both like hers and very different, all at the same time. She knew the element, but its structure was completely different, and that's when she realized that some of the words she was interlacing into her spell weren't any that she had ever spoken before.

And then a moment of pause, of clarity, a sign her magic was indeed stabilizing the frenzied power and shaping it into something orderly, rather then chaotic.

As the spell reached its crescendo, she opened her eyes and held out her free hand, feeling the magic on the very tips of her finger, almost like it was asking to be released and do its job.

"Inferno!"

The force of the power unleashed kicked up a cloud of dust, and Ifrit, who was taking a step forward most likely to crush them, was thrown backwards, his flaming barrier instantly snuffing out with a massive explosion.

Rydia winced at the release of magic and realized how dizzy she suddenly felt.

There was a sense of loss now that the connection was broken, and for a moment she longed to have it back. She understood the term "drunk on magic" now when she'd heard Mysidian mages speak about the forbidden spells.

But as much as she wanted to bask in that power, a cry from the Eidolon reminded her that the battle wasn't over.

Reluctantly she freed her hand from Edge's and happened to catch the look on his face.

She imagined he felt much the same ways she did, but also understood there was no time to dwell on it.

Izayoi certainly wasted no time and sent a wave of frost at Ifrit, which encouraged the others to take a swing or two at him.

Now that his shield was down, they quickly discovered he could, in fact, be harmed.

Rydia had no idea where her whip had landed and instead tried to summon some magic, realizing rather swiftly that her senses had become tangled and her magic wouldn't heed her easily.

As Gekkou scored a nasty looking gash along Ifrit's leg, the summoner wondered if she would even need to cast anymore spells.

"Ifrit!" Rydia shouted, hoping they had inflicted enough damage to break the maiden's hold over him, just as they had with the others.

The fire beast roared and unleashed a blaze, causing the group to duck behind some of the rubble scattered across the courtyard.

Rydia took the chance to catch her breath, and after a moment she heard a whisper that bore the mark of the Feymarch.

She channeled magic and the voice sharpened to one she could hear.

"_Rydia, summon me_."

Her eyes widened, "But Shiva, it's against the Laws of Summoning for me to use you in battle against another Eidolon!"

"_The law has had already been broken, child. You cannot reason with Ifrit, he has been driven mad by that witch. I can defeat him, if you trust me_."

Still she hesitated, and Gekkou, who crouched next to her spoke, "You speak to one of the magical beings,"

"Yes, Shiva. She's an ice Eidolon, and she's asking me to put her in the battle."

"You hesitate."

"It's against everything the Eidolons are. They aren't supposed to be used as tools of war." she replied, peeking around the half wall to spy on Ifrit.

"That is not why you refuse to heed her advice,"

Rydia turned back slowly and fixed him with a stern gaze, "Your right. I don't want to put her in harms way or make her hurt her friend. They have been through enough and I will not force them into more pain."

She frowned at him and added, "You seem to know me very well for only meeting me a few weeks ago,"

"I have heard much about you and I feel as though we have already met."

The summoner blushed, wondering where he would have heard that much about her. She was skeptical Edge talked about her that much.

"_Rydia_," Shiva said, more forceful then before.

She sighed and stood, speaking the words to call forth the icy woman.

"You are certain?"

The air shuddered as the glyph of light formed beneath her feet.

"_Yes_."

Shiva wasted no time attacking the other Eidolon, and Rydia winced as they exchanged blows. Being completely opposite elements made the battle gruesome, and neither of them would give up. They were battling not only physically but also with their wills, using all the powers of the Feymarch to duel.

"_Her hold weakens. Prepare your own spell, Rydia_."

"You want me to kill him?" she said, shocked.

Shiva sliced Ifrit's chest, "_If you believe you can free him, then do so. But if he poses too great a threat to you, then defend yourself. You are more important then any of us, and Ifrit would agree._"

She shook her head, hair flipping over her shoulders, "No, I've already broken more laws then I'd ever wanted too. This ends now, and with no more needless pain and death."

Diamond Dust shattered at that moment, sending the fire Eidolon stumbling backwards, crashing through a portion of the outside wall around the castle.

Shiva knelt on the ground, burned and panting, and Rydia released her to the Feymarch before the horror could continue. His target gone, Ifrit growled and started towards them, fire burning what was left of the grass.

She leaned over and plucked an arrow from Izayoi's quiver, although she other woman noticed the action and questioned sharply, "What are you-"

"I need to borrow this," the summoner interrupted, grabbing her bow from her back before she had a chance to move.

The bow was not Rydia's favorite weapon, nor did she claim to be any good with one, but with a target as large as Ifrit, she knew she wouldn't miss.

She loosed the arrow and it hit him in the side of the face, halting his movements and inducing a sharp cry of rage.

"If you were trying to piss him off, it worked!" Edge commented sarcastically, yelling across the small field that separated them.

She ignored him and stepped out into the open, discarding the bow back to its owner.

"Ifrit!" she called again, holding up her hands.

He stopped upon hearing his name, and she smiled, knowing that the dark hold was weakened if he recognized her voice.

"I know you're enraged right now, but you know who I am, don't you?"

He didn't move and she took a step forward, squinting at the fire's heat as she got closer to him.

"High Summoner, are you-"

Edge shushed Zangestu, "Let her, she knows what she's doing."

Rydia appreciated the vote of confidence, but she was still afraid of her former Eidolon. She always had been. Although he was surprisingly gentle, he was still the embodiment of her greatest fear.

"Ifrit, please, I don't want to hurt you, but you have to stop this. Look around, look at the amount of destruction you have caused."

Ifrit did as she asked, his head swiveling around. He let out a whining sound that shook the ground, obviously noticing the damaged.

She licked her lips and took a few more steps forward, standing in front of him and looking up, "Ifrit…come back to me, give me your name again."

The formerly frightening monster cried out in remorse and crashed to his knees, the flames along his spine slowly dying down.

She breathed out and tentatively reached out her hand, laying it on his forehead.

"Oh Ifrit, don't be sad…it wasn't your fault. Are you free of her now?"

He was keening lowly, deep in his throat, but he nodded his head to her question.

Rydia smiled, "Good, then, will you allow me to summon you once again?"

He nodded again and moaned quietly, "I am sorry, Rydia…"

"I know, it's alright."

She felt him give over his life to her again and she released him back to the Feymarch, knowing that the others there would welcome him and make the last few weeks easier to bare.

"_Tell them I'm sorry too_?" Ifrit asked timidly from the magical realm.

She smiled, "Of course."

Glancing over her shoulder, she scowled at Edge, "Right after I lecture him about being an idiot."

Everyone was burned and exhausted, and Rydia took pity on them and for that reason alone said nothing as they made their way back towards the throne room.

The fires had been doused when Ifrit left the world, and now that everything was quiet once more, people were coming out and already commenting on the damage.

She tried not to take it personally, but it still stung to hear her sweet Eidolons described as 'monster'.

Upon entering the throne room, it was empty, which led Izayoi to ask, "Where is seneschal?"

"Probably off pestering someone," Edge muttered, rolling his eyes.

He glanced at Rydia and sighed at the look on her face.

"Go ahead, say it."

She spun around, "You're an idiot."

"And the rest of it…" he said, waving a hand in a 'keep going' motion.

She glared at him, "You could have gotten yourself killed! What is wrong with you? Did you learn nothing last time you did something like this? Do you have a death wish to die by fire because trust me, if you do, I can help you out."

He sighed, "I know, I know, but in my defense, I wasn't doing it to be selfish this time. I was doing it to keep everyone safe."

She rolled her eyes and he frowned, "Which reminds me, I'm pretty sure I told you to stay in here,"

Rydia propped her hands on her hips, "I don't have to listen to you, I'm not one of your ninja spies!"

"Yeah, that reminds me too," he said, turning to look at the Eblan four who were trying to look inconspicuous in one of the corners of the room, "I _know_ I told you to stay here."

Tsukinowa winced and Gekkou nodded solemnly, "Yes, you did. However, you also told us to watch over the High Summoner, and she decided to leave this room and put herself in danger. We were doing what you asked."

Edge's expression was a strange mixture of frustration and pride that Rydia found extremely amusing.

He turned back to her, "Loop hole?"

"Yes," she said smugly, crossing her arms once again, "you left me no choice."

He sighed again and Izayoi frowned, "You should let me heal you."

"I'm not that hurt."

"I agree with Izayoi." Rydia said, the words leaving a bad taste in her mouth.

Edge crossed his arms, "Great, now you guys can gang up on me."

Tsukinowa grinned and Zangestu snickered slightly but they both didn't dare say anything.

"Sit," Izayoi ordered in her 'bossy' tone.

He shook his head, "Only if Rydia agrees to get healed as well."

"I'm not that hurt," she protested, clasping her hands behind her back.

Gekkou gestured to her hands, "Didn't you get burned on the door?"

She glared at him, "Whose side are you on, anyway?"

"I don't want to have to pick sides," Tsukinowa mumbled.

Edge looked pleased with himself but she glared at him, "Fine, you win. I'll get healed too but you go first."

"Fine."

Izayoi rolled her eyes at both of them.

Rydia was relieved he had listened, but unprepared for him to causally take his shirt off and haplessly toss it on the floor before sitting in his throne and crossing his arms looking terribly put out.

No one else seemed surprised by this behavior and she had to wonder if they were all used to it. Izayoi sat on the arm of the throne and poked his arm once, making him glare at her, before she turned back, "Tsukinowa, fetch some ointment."

"You didn't say please," the boy said sarcastically.

Rydia tried not to snicker at his attitude, and the woman narrowed her eyes, "_Please_."

He grinned and scurried to the door, returning remarkably fast, arms bundled full of supplies, "I got you some other stuff, too."

He deposited the goods at her feet and then added, "Oh, and code red; the seneschal is about two minutes away from coming in here.

Edge groaned, "Great,"

Izayoi snorted, "I feel no sympathy for you. By the way, this will hurt."

She didn't give him any time to prepare and just pressed a cloth on top of one of the nastier burns.

"_Damn_," he hissed, glaring at her.

She looked unmoved.

"Your young highness!"

Rydia turned towards the door and saw the seneschal running in, managing to look both worried and relieved at the same time.

But after he realized his king was fine, his expression changed to annoyance, "I see you managed to nearly get yourself killed,"

"I don't need another sermon, Rydia already beat you too it." he complained, wincing while Izayoi continued to poke around.

With a sigh, the old man sat down on one of the stairs, "Well good, I could use a day off. Maybe the High Summoner can stay here and I can retire."

"Only if you all stop calling me that," she gripped, crossing her arms.

"You are alright, aren't you?" the seneschal asked, glancing at him.

Edge glared at Izayoi, "I actually felt better _before_ she started working on me. Where's a white mage when you need one?"

"Stop whining," the dark haired woman scolded, "I will use the healing spells I know, but I shouldn't have to explain that they aren't a cure all."

Rydia had always second guessed her choice to discard her white magic and keep her black, and most days she was content with her decision. But when she saw someone in pain, there was a strong urge to help them, and that made her regret not being able to through magic.

Regardless, something about Izayoi being in charge of healing Edge bothered her. It could have been because she didn't look very gentle, but something told the summoner it was something else entirely even if she couldn't put her finger on what.

"And you, are you alright?"

It took her a minute to realize the question was directed at her, and she looked up and blinked, "Me? Oh, I'm fine…"

Old man seneschal had been the one asking, and he didn't look like he believed her, "You should allow Izayoi to-"

"I'm fine." she interrupted, a little sharper then she meant too.

Rydia justified it that she was still feeling out of sorts from the Inferno spell and so rubbed a hand across her forehead, trying to ignore the burns on her fingertips.

"You are stubborn, just like someone else I know," the old man said, coming to stand in front of her.

He pried her hand down and opened the fingers, making the skin stretch painfully.

He frowned at her and she looked away, feeling a little guilty and sheepish.

The ointment stung at first, and she hissed, but afterwards it soothed the burn and she relaxed, watching the seneschal rub the oil over her palm and fingers.

"Thank you."

He smiled a little, "Your welcome. I suspect my king wouldn't be very pleased should something happen to you."

She gave him a puzzled look and he just chuckled, "Never mind, High Summoner."

After her hands had been treated he handed her the half empty bottle, "I'm sure you have burns elsewhere, but unlike some people," here he glared over his shoulder at Edge, "you know that there is a place for that kind of thing."

"It's my castle, I should be allowed to do whatever I want."

The seneschal rolled his eyes, "I don't feel like trying to set you straight today."

Izayoi stood and put one hand on her hip, "I can tell you're faking, something else is bothering you, what is it?"

Edge just shrugged, "I'm fine, it's nothing."

"His ribs," Rydia called.

Izayoi frowned and sat back down, forcefully moving his arm out of the way. The king glared at her, "Thanks a lot,"

"Your welcome."

Tsukinowa snickered, "Maybe she does need to stay here."

"It would make our lives easier," Gekkou agreed.

The summoner giggled, but still found herself annoyed by Izayoi, and by the fact that she couldn't place her finger on what this feeling _was_.

* * *

She couldn't sleep.

Rydia had been tossing and turning for over an hour and she was still no closer to falling asleep then before. She simply _couldn't_, not with her heart still racing from earlier.

She sat up and sighed, rubbing her hands up and down her arms for a moment.

Never had she felt magic like that before, and she had spent her life surrounded by it, studying it, casting it.

But this felt different, this was extremely powerful and wild yet, at the same time, tranquil and orderly.

Mind made up she slipped out of bed and threw a cloak over her shoulders, thinking that a walk might calm her down enough to rest.

The walk did not soothe her since the castle was in desperate need of decorations that weren't gloomy. Like potted plants, or candle sticks.

Rydia shrugged and continued on her way, mind still whirling about Inferno and wondering if other magic would mix as well as those two did. It wasn't completely unrealistic, as some ancient sages suggested the use of different magic to create new spells. Granted, the theories were found to be lacking and no one ever thought much of them.

"Rydia?"

She gotten so used to Edge materializing out of what appeared to be thin air that she no longer jumped when it happened. Instead she just turned and brushed some hair out of her face while explaining, "I couldn't sleep,"

"Me either," he admitted, coming to stand next to her.

She peered at him and saw the same restless look on his face that she was currently feeling.

"Magic," she whispered.

He nodded, "Magic."

They both broke into smiles and Rydia breathed out, "I've never felt anything like that before. Do you…feel agitated? I feel drunk."

"Agitated?" he asked, eyeing her.

She nodded and rubbed her arms again, "Yes, I'm light headed and almost feverish…I've never felt this way using magic before. I almost feel as though my blood is burning."

He was frowning, and she tipped her head to the side, "What about you? Are you anxious too?"

"No, and that's what bothers me." he mumbled, looking away at one of the shadowed hallways. "Magic is not supposed to mix."

"But it did," she insisted, confused as too why he seemed so unnerved by that fact.

Edge sighed, "Yes, but I think we somehow…reversed our magic. You feel feverish and me? I'm uneasy because I can't feel _anything_. Is that what black magic is supposed to be like? So…detached?"

She paused to think, "Well, I guess so…I'm not a black mage, though. I'm a summoner and because of that I feel the Feymarch at all times. But yes, normal black magic is dormant, you don't really feel it until you call it forth."

She blinked, "Wait, reversed? Is this what you feel like after you cast a spell?"

He looked sheepish and she shivered, "How can you stand it?"

"How can you?" he replied, "To not feel magic? How do you even know it's there?"

She didn't have a good answer for that and he eyed her again, "You're actually doing really well, considering. It takes years to get used to it."

"I thank the Eidolons," she said, shrugging, "I feel something similar when I summon them."

They both stared at each other and Rydia suddenly felt like she knew him better then she had before, even if the thought surprised her. They'd been friends for years, and in that time she'd told him things that she was hesitant to share with others and she was pretty sure that he had told her things he wasn't supposed too.

He'd once told her, after she'd pestered him for details, that the base difference between their magic was that she _cast_ it and he _used_ it. She had never really understood what he meant.

But after today, after having their magic unite into something entirely new, she felt closer to him and finally comprehended the difference.

Edge suddenly grasp her hand, "Come on, there's something I want to show you."

She followed him down a corridor she had never been allowed to go down before on her few visits. It irritated her that she wasn't able to walk freely in Eblan like everywhere else, but tonight it didn't matter because she was with Edge.

They came to a door and he opened it for her, finally releasing her hand.

Rydia's eyes widened in excitement, "Oh wow!"

The room was a library, not huge or even grand but still containing shelves of books. She walked over to the nearest and let her fingertips brush over the books as she went, impressed by the collection. Some looked as old as the books in the Feymarch while others seemed brand new. She found the contrast interesting and as if reading her thoughts, Edge mentioned, "A lot of books were lost in the fire, but we found quite a few. More then I thought we would, anyway."

She looked over her shoulder at him, hand still in contact with the shelf as she watched him search the very top.

"Including, this one." he said, using the bottom shelf as leverage to reach the top and pull one free.

He held it out to her and she took it reverently, realizing the age of the book as she held it in her hands.

"How old is this?" she asked, carefully opening the cover and tilting the book towards the moonlight streaming through a window in the back of the room.

"Old," Edge replied, chuckling.

Her eyes scanned over the page and she blinked before looking back up at him, "These are spells,"

He nodded and she took a deep breath, "_Old _spells…some of these symbols are from before the forbidden spells were sealed…"

She walked slowly towards a table, all the while studying the pages as she went. Ancient text always enthralled her, and this was no different, even if she couldn't understand half of it.

She laid the book on the table top and flipped another page, "Can you read these?" she asked.

It took him a minute to answer, "Not really. Some of it, but I'm not very good with the ancient language. I actually thought you might be able too."

Rydia shook her head and kept reading, "No, I know ancient Mysidian and summoner's script, but not this."

Edge stood by her side and rested his chin on her shoulder. He was doing it on purpose to annoy her, but she chose to ignore him and keep looking through the book.

Finally he reached around her and batted her hand away, to which she made an indignant sound, and skipped towards the end of the book.

"This is what I wanted to show you," he said, pointing at the page.

Rydia's eyes widened again, and she leaned forward, letting the light catch the page and reflect off a glorious painting of something familiar.

She blinked a few times and turned her head, "This is…"

"An Eidolon?" Edge replied, smiling at her.

She nodded and looked back, "I don't believe it!"

Her fingers traced over the words underneath the picture; a picture of a beautiful flaming bird.

"This is summoner's writing," she whispered, still surprised.

He finally moved away from her and took up a position leaving against nearest bookshelf. "I know, I can't read it. But, I know what it looks like, so I thought maybe you could."

She smiled slowly and he added, "Assuming of course you can tell me without having to kill me afterwards,"

Rydia giggled and rolled her eyes at him, "I trust you, you know that. Besides, as High Summoner and _last_ summoner, I make the rules now."

She returned her attention to the page and read, "Light of life and herald of rebirth, high Eidolon Phoenix, the undying."

"Ring any bells?"

She sighed, "If I recall, Phoenix is a lost Eidolon, one that hasn't been heard from since before the new age of magic, when summoners still fought in wars, before we cloistered ourselves away. Apparently, it was both an Eidolon of destruction and rebirth…"

Rydia glanced up, eyes falling on a tapestry attached to the wall, before looking back to the book, frowning.

"Wait…" she whispered, walking over, the book in hand, and getting a closer look at the decoration. The wall-hanging showed the same image of a flaming bird, wings opened wide, embroidered in gold thread. Rydia looked over her shoulder, shocked, "Did you know about this?"

"Just tonight," Edge replied, looking amused by her reaction, "I couldn't sleep, remember?"

She laughed a little, "Amazing! To think…Eblan must have had a summoner back then…either that or they extracted the Eidolon from a summoner. That happened a lot back in those days, too."

"I like the first option better, even if I'm sure she wasn't nearly as talented or beautiful as you."

Rydia snorted and didn't bother facing him, "You already know flattery won't get you anywhere,"

"It's not flattery if it's true." he replied.

She rolled her eyes.

"I wonder what else is in this library…" Rydia said aloud, letting her fingers brush the painting of Phoenix one last time.

Edge took the book from her hands and she frowned at him, annoyed. He just grinned at her and added, "If that was a hint that you want access to this room, then consider it granted."

She blinked as he walked away and replaced the book on the top shelf, although it took more then one attempt.

"Really?" she asked, dubious.

He shrugged, "Sure, just don't tell the king. I hear he's a jerk."

Rydia chuckled lightly, "I don't know about that, but he _is_ annoying."

Her eyes skimmed the other books in the room, trying to make out titles and wondering if any others showed the ties between summoners and the rest of the world. Most books from that era were gone; she knew because she'd already searched for them in other kingdoms. Even the Feymarch had limited records which was why there were still a number of Eidolons lost from that time that were never found. It was even possible that Phoenix could still be here, on these grounds, somewhere.

"Access, Rydia, but not tonight." Edge said, interrupting her thoughts. "Tonight you need to sleep."

"I don't know if I can," she complained, moving towards the door regardless, "I'm too anxious."

"We're no good if we aren't rested." he countered. "Besides, I think that whatever that spell did is wearing off. I do feel slightly back to normal."

She frowned, knowing he was right and hating it but complying anyway and exiting the library, casting one last look back.

* * *

**Author's Note: Oh my gosh this is so LONG. And another battle scene? What was I thinking? I hate writing battle scenes...**

**Okay, explaination time for anyone who cares; I noticed while I was watching some YouTube videos all the tapestries in Eblan have Phoenix on them, not to mention that overly long titled Band (That seems more trouble then it's worth,) and I thought, "huh, that's a summon in other games" Thus, the aboe scene. It wasn't even in the story orignally, but I added it anyway.**

**And the Eblan Four bother me. They are glorifed cannonfolder. They have no back stories, shallow (at best) personalities and really have no reason to be included in this game as far as I can tell. I feel sorry for them because of this. I have fixed this in my own mnd and given them back stories and characters. Granted, I'm not covering all of that here because this doesn't need to be any longer, but I hope I've at least put something a little better in here for them. Thank goodness for copy and paste...I still can't spell 'Tsukinowa' without it, and I'll be darned if I try to say it out loud...**

**There is a 3rd and final part to this. Stay tuned!**


	3. Chapter 3

**The third and final part! Here you are, although, parts of it are depressing, which is odd because I don't like writing depressing stuff.**

**Expect a long Author's Note at the bottom.**

* * *

Rydia had forgotten how amazing it was to fly through space on the Lunar Whale. The trip was just long enough for her to stare out one of the windows and marvel at how many stars were really out in the void.

Her hand was resting on the glass, and she sighed softly, deciding to enjoy the moment before the reality of everything came crashing back to her.

Footsteps echoed and she turned to see Harley returning with a bottle in hand.

She held it to Gilbert who was sitting behind Rydia, feeling sick since they'd taken off.

"Queen Rosa says to drink this." Harley explained.

He took it and stared at it, "I don't suppose she said what is was,"

"She did not."

He frowned, "That might be for the best."

Rydia giggled but tossed him a sympathetic look, remembering he had felt much the same when they had traveled by boat years ago.

Harley sat next to him and glanced at the summoner, "I hear you have managed to successfully mix magic and create a new spell,"

She dropped her hand and turned halfway around, "How did you hear about that?"

"Word travels fast," Gilbert teased.

Rydia leaned back against the metal wall, "Well, yes, Edge and I managed to cast Inferno using both our magic."

"Fascinating!" the scholar said, leaning forward, "What was it like?"

Rydia paused, "…Like…being trapped in the eye of a storm, seeing and feeling everything around you but not being hurt by anything."

She noticed the look on their faces and asked, "What?"

"I'm remembering a little girl who was afraid to melt a block of ice on a mountain," Gilbert confessed.

She laughed quietly, "That was such a long time ago…"

Harley shrugged, "I can't say I'm too surprised that the two of you could make the merging work. You two make a good team."

The summoner blinked, "Do we?"

"I may have been on the _Falcon_ for most of the excitement, but I did witness the two of you take out some mad ogres in Agart." Harley explained.

She paused, "I guess so…I think we're just used to fighting side by side from before. Anyway, we had help for those battles."

"Ah yes, the Eblan Four. What an interesting bunch of people." Gilbert remarked.

Rydia smirked, "Their alright. Well, except for Izayoi."

"Oh?"

"She rubs me the wrong way. I'm not really sure why, but I don't like her very much."

Harley looked a little puzzled, "Perhaps you're jealous of her?"

"What?" she asked, shocked at the implication, "Why would I be jealous of her? I can't stand her!"

"Not of her personality, but maybe jealous of something she has," the scholar clarified. "Just an observation. I tend to do that."

Rydia did not miss the not so subtle nudge Gilbert gave Harley to shut her up. She stared at both of them, "Do you think I'm a horrible person?"

"No," they both answered.

She rolled her eyes and declared, "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

She didn't even want to think about the topic. Everyone was putting strange ideas in her head and nothing involving Izayoi made any sense. She'd much rather ignore it.

Rydia turned to the window and watched as they approached the new moon that had appeared in their skies.

"That is most definitely not the same moon from before," Harley murmured, coming to stand next to her.

"No, it's not. In fact," the summoner said, "it almost looks…artificial."

"Agreed."

Rydia shivered and hugged herself, "Whatever we find there, it won't be good. I'm sure of it.

* * *

The group had stopped once again after another long day of trying to find their way through the strange subterranean land. The passages were riddled with monsters, and every time they thought they were getting somewhere, a more ferocious foe would show it's self, or they would be faced with a familiar enemy from times past. Because of the amount of space they needed to cover, the group had been split into several smaller groups that scouted ahead to find the most promising routes for the next trip. However, when Rydia's group got back, everyone seemed in more dreary moods they had been in previously and she got the sense the day had not gone so well.

She searched for someone who wasn't occupied to ask what they had encountered that made them all so upset.

Before she could get very far, she bumped into someone and was surprised to see Tsukinowa glance up at her, eyes clouded, before he slipped away without a word.

She blinked and called over her shoulder, "Tsukinowa?"

He didn't reply, and the interaction was so unlike the boy that she bit her lip in worry. Something had happened today that she was unaware of, and whatever it was had upset even the more cheerful members of their group.

"Let him be, High Summoner."

Rydia turned back around, "Zangestu, what happened? It seems like I missed something…is everything alright?"

He smiled at her sadly, "Yes and no, you should not worry yourself over it."

His comments didn't make her feel any better, not when she could see he was just as upset as Tsukinowa.

The summoner cross her arms over her chest, hugging herself, and looked back the way she came for a moment, wondering if she should find someone else to explain since she doubted the Eblan Four would speak up.

Zangestu surprised her when he stepped next to her and asked quietly, "May I ask a favor?"

"Of course." she replied, nodding.

His gaze was fixed to one of the cavern walls and she waited patiently for him to continue.

"I hesitate to ask you any sort of favor, and not because I do not trust you but because it should not be your task to aid us."

Rydia frowned, but said nothing.

"Today was…unsettling for us," he went on, sighing, "I was hoping I could impose upon you to speak with master Edge."

She uncrossed her arms, "Why? What happened?"

"I shall leave it to him to explain, if he so wishes. I merely request that you attempt to talk with him. He…"

Rydia peered at him curiously, wondering why he trailed off and what he wasn't telling her.

Zangestu glanced at her and finished his sentence, "He trusts you, as do we all, and I have a feeling that you may be the only company he would accept as this moment."

"I'll see if he wants to talk," she said quietly, and he gave her another smile before nodding.

"That is all I ask."

She watched him leave, wondering what she had just agreed too. After a moment the green haired woman shook her head and started walking again, assuming that Edge was probably wherever Zangestu and Tsukinowa had come from. She retraced their steps and entered a narrow corridor that required her to walk somewhat to the side in order to fit.

The rock brushed against her shoulders and back a few times and she tried not to give into irrational fear that there were monsters this way. They had scoped this cavern out already, and it proved safe, she should be fine.

The tunnel opened again a feet ahead of her and she slowed her pace until she came to a stop at the threshold, one hand resting on the uneven stone.

She could hear voices up ahead and strained to listen in, leaning forward as she did so.

Her ears and eyes adjusted to the darkness beyond and she began to make out bits and pieces of a conversation.

"…Been so harsh,"

That was Izayoi's voice, calm as ever.

A sigh, "I know, but I don't feel up to having company right now."

Rydia spotted the second speaker, Edge, sitting in the very back corner of the room, although she could see little else.

Izayoi walked in front of him, pacing, and Rydia ducked back against the wall as she passed.

"Including mine?" the woman asked.

He took a moment to answer, "You're different,"

She snorted, and made another pass, her footsteps making no sound.

"I'll apologize to Tsukinowa and Zangestu later." Edge said quietly.

Izayoi stopped in front of him, "They understand, you know."

"No, they don't." he remarked bitterly.

She sighed and knelt down so they were eye to eye, "Yes, they do. And so do I."

Rydia was trying to bury her annoyance at Izayoi's attitude in favor of getting to the bottom of whatever was causing this.

"Do they?" Edge snapped, "Did they have to watch their parents die right in front of their eyes, twice?"

Rydia flinched, realizing the situation at last. It shouldn't surprise her the former king and queen of Eblan had been revived when other former enemies they had faced had also returned from the dead. But to see them again would not be a battle, it would be a painful reminder that would cause more damage then any physical wound.

Rydia felt an urge to make herself known, but then Izayoi was speaking again, and she convinced herself to cower against the stone wall instead.

"No, but they have lost someone. We all have."

He said nothing, and she lowered her voice, "It was hard on all of us,"

"I know." Edge muttered, sounding a little contrite.

Rydia peeked from her hiding place and watched as Izayoi sat next to him and leaned against the cave wall, "I do not mean to imply that this isn't the hardest on you, but you must understand that we all suffered today."

There was a pause and Rydia tried not to breathe to heavily in case they heard her. The last thing she wanted to explain was why she was spying on the two of them, even if Zangestu had asked her to speak to him.

Besides, trying to still her breathing was a good distraction from the resentment she felt that it was Izayoi comforting him and not her.

"Whoever is behind this needs to pay." Edge muttered angrily.

Izayoi sat up, "You mean the blue haired maidens?"

"They aren't the ones behind this, someone else is controlling them, and whoever it is, I don't like."

His explanation of someone else made sense, and Rydia had wondered the same thing. As powerful as the mysterious women were, they didn't seem to be truly invested in destroying the world. In fact, they weren't invested in anything, nearly robotic.

"But, the blue haired women aren't my favorite people, either." he amended, sounding disgusted with them.

"Is that because of today or because they take the form of the High Summoner?" Izayoi asked.

Rydia snuck a glance at him, curious to his reaction.

"What?" he asked, shaking his head a little, "I don't see what that has to do with anything."

"Don't you?" she said, shifting on the ground to face him, "They are cruel indeed, but I suspect that you have stronger feelings because of their appearance."

He didn't reply, and they both sat in silence again for a few seconds. So long, in fact, that Rydia began to wonder if she could sneak away and find something to distraction herself with.

"Do you wish me to leave?" Izayoi asked out of the blue.

"No," Edge replied quietly, "but I'm not sure I want you to stay, either."

Her hand rested on his shoulder, "Then perhaps I should stay, but not as one of your four."

He said nothing and reached his own hand to clasp hers, still resting on his shoulder.

Having seen more then enough, Rydia backed up a few steps and then carefully and quietly turned around and began to make her way back towards the larger cavern filled with her friends.

Along the way she tried to sift through the strange mixture of emotions she felt. She was angry, but she didn't have a right to be, and she was sad, although she couldn't figure out what about. Not to mention that she was resentful of Izayoi and protective of Edge, even if he wasn't in any danger.

With a sigh the summoner pressed her fingers into her temple and gave her head a good shake, hoping to clear some of the confusion from it.

Once in the more brightly lit main area, she spotted everyone and realized that all the groups had returned from their scouting and had settled down to rest a few hours before they started again. Her own magical reserves were running low, but she doubted she could get any sleep with her current unhappiness.

She wove her way through the cavern and passed Ursula and Ceodore in time to see the blonde girl playfully punch his arm. But, judging by the way he winced and rubbed it afterwards, she would guess Ursula didn't hit like a girl.

She also stepped over Calca and Brina who ran in her path, probably on an errand for Luca. Rydia still tried to sort her feelings out while she walked, trying not to make eye contact with anyone so they wouldn't start a conversation with her. She didn't feel up to talking.

Something Harley had said got her thinking, but she refused to believe that this intense feeling was jealousy.

Rydia stopped in her tracks, an idea forming in her head although she wasn't sure she entirely liked it, it would answer her questions.

After a moment's hesitation, she surveyed the cave looking for one person in peculiar.

She saw him, standing not far from where she currently was.

He had spoken very little to her since his return, just enough to apologize for everything he had ever done, which Rydia found a little strange. She'd already forgiven him long ago, and after seventeen years, she felt like she was meeting a completely new person for the first time, not someone from her past. She had assured him of her forgiveness as well, but she wasn't sure if he believed her or not.

Still, if anyone could help her understand this, it was him.

Rydia took a deep breath and steeled herself for the coming few minutes before cautiously approaching the blonde man.

"Kain?"

He glanced in her direction and watched her walk up, but she couldn't read the look on his face so she made her intentions clear by asking, "May we talk?"

Now there was a flash of worry, but he nodded all the same and she stood in front of him, trying to decide how she wanted to explain.

"I have a…personal question I was hoping to ask you." she said hesitantly, wondering if she was overstepping her bounds.

He nodded again and Rydia took a deep breath, "I was curious what jealousy feels like?"

The look he gave her was somewhere in between amusement and confusion, but she was just glad that he wasn't angry at her for asking.

"That is a strange question,"

She frowned, "I know."

"You've never been jealous before?"

Rydia paused, thinking back, "Well…when I was younger I was envious of Rosa's hair, and sometimes of the other kids in Mist, but it never felt like _this_."

"Like what?" Kain asked.

She shrugged, "Like I'm angry and sad and sick feeling all at the same time."

"I think you just answered your own question." he replied flatly.

She wrinkled her nose, "But…it never felt like this before, and I don't even know why I'm jealous, if I am at all."

Kain sighed and leaned back against the cavern wall with his arms crossed, "I'm lost, fill me in. What do you think you're jealous about?"

Rydia looked away, still not comfortable with this conversation, and somewhat surprised that she was talking to _Kain _of all people about her troubles.

"First of all, I'm not jealous," she commented defensively, "This isn't important enough for me too be. I just don't like Izayoi,"

"Oh," he said, "the female member of the Eblan Four. She doesn't seem to have much of a personality."

"She has one, it's just not very good." Rydia muttered.

He looked surprised and raised an eyebrow, "That is rather harsh."

Reprimanded, the summoner averted her eyes, but Kain continued, "You don't think you're jealous, but then why do you dislike Izayoi?"

"She's so detached, and calculating, she acts like she knows everything and-"

"You don't like her spending time with Edge," he guessed, stopping her in the middle of a sentence.

Rydia rubbed one of her arms awkwardly, "No,"

"Denial is not going to do you any good." Kain said, speaking in a serious tone that convinced her he was right.

She sighed and dropped her arms to her side, "It's not that they spend time together, it's the _way_ they spend time together that I don't."

Realization hit her like a slap to the face and she squeezed her eyes shut, "Oh, I'm an awful person…"

"Rydia, you are not an awful person," Kain told her, sounding slightly put out.

She glared at a nearby wall, "But I am. I have literally no reason to feel this way. He can do whatever he wants too, it's his life, and shouldn't I feel happy for him instead of…this?"

She glanced at the dragoon and narrowed her eyes, "You're not saying anything,"

"I don't have too."

She breathed out in a huff, ruffling her bangs, "Because you know I'm right?"

"Because you shouldn't be worried about this." he said, shaking his head.

Confused, she tipped her head to the side and stared at him with a puzzled expression, wanting him to continue.

"I see the way he looks at you. _Everyone_ sees the way he looks at you."

Rydia flushed and ducked her head, feeling slightly embarrassed by the comment and also instantly denying it to herself. She never noticed anything different in the way he was with her, nothing that would tell her he had feelings for her beyond mere friendship.

But she also found herself admitting that she was fine with that relationship so long as he was still single. Something about him having someone other than her in his life bothered her.

"You know," Kain said conversationally, interrupting her thoughts, "seventeen years sounds like a long time, and yet, it seems to me that very little has changed."

He gestured around the cave as he spoke, "Palom still thinks he's the greatest black mage in the world, Cid still works himself to the point of collapsing, Cecil still blames himself for _everything_, and Edge is still head over heels in love with you but you don't see it. It makes me wonder if I was really gone all that long."

At first she was speechless by the way he'd just plainly said such things. But then she blinked a couple times and asked, "Was that a joke?"

"I do have a sense of humor,"

She grinned, "I never noticed."

"You were probably too busy not trusting me," he said, smirking at her.

Rydia giggled, "Maybe."

She sighed and brushed some hair over her shoulder, "Thank you for listening to me."

"You are concerned over what I'm sure is nothing." Kain said, standing up straight again, "Relax and merely enjoy his company. I have a feeling everything will work out fine."

* * *

Despite Kain's advice, Rydia had tried her best to avoid Edge the last few days, making sure to be in groups without him. She decided it would be easier then trying to pretend that she wasn't upset.

At the moment, they were so deep in the new moon that she wasn't sure she remembered what fresh air tasted like. They were weary and beaten down and it seemed that they still had levels upon levels of terrain to clear before making it to the core and finding out what was behind all of this.

Over the past few days Rydia had had very little time to contact the Eidolons and now that she had a moment, she found a small cavern and hid herself away to gather the magic.

"Asura?"

There was a light, and a whisper of a voice as her Eidolon mother reached out with her own magic to reply.

"_Dear one, you sound tired_."

"I am."

"_You should rest. Leviathan and I sense Bahamut very near you. No doubt the Maenads control him as well. You should prepare yourself_."

The summoner nodded and knelt on the ground, closing her eyes; the action was unnecessary, but it helped keep her from getting distracted.

"I will, but I needed to speak to you, to make sure you were alright. Both of you."

"_We are recovered_." Asura answered, guarded.

Rydia bit her lip, "And the Feymarch?"

"…_It will take time_."

The summoner blinked back tears, "Asura, what happened…I'm sorry."

"_You needn't apologize, you did not cause any of the harm that came to us_."

"But…in a way I feel like I did. You told me not to come back, and I did. And I know the portal only works for summoners and Eidolons. The Maenad, the one that took you all, she wouldn't have been able to enter if I hadn't opened the door."

Asura sighed, "_I was hopeful you would not put that together, for even though it is not your fault, I knew you would feel guilty_."

"It is my fault!"

"_No, dear one, it isn't. She would have found a way to us with or without you. She had been trying for days before you arrived. We were keeping her out, but we would have failed at some point._"

Rydia sniffed and folded her hands in her lap, "But still, I disobeyed you."

"…_Yes, but I'm not angry, Rydia. I am…glad that you are alright_."

The summoner remembered having to fight both her mother and father, the king and queen of the Feymarch. Both had been nearly successful in killing her and the others and both were terribly remorseful afterwards.

"You aren't angry?" Rydia asked carefully.

For so long she had feared that she had somehow disappointed the Eidolons. They seemed so distance and cold towards her and she had wondered if her banishment was because she'd done something wrong, not because they wanted her to live a life on the surface.

"_Of course not, dear one." _Asura replied, sounding stung by the question_. "You are my daughter, Rydia. You are the light of the Feymarch. I could not be angry with you for anything, and most assuredly not for something that was not your fault_."

The summoner flicked a tear off her cheek, "I'm glad to hear it. I don't want to ever disappoint you or Leviathan."

"_Then you have little to fear_."

Rydia smiled, "Thank you."

"…_I sense you are troubled beyond feeling guilty. What ails you_?"

Asura was very wise, and very good at telling emotions apart. Rydia frowned, however, not sure she wanted to talk about that topic.

"It's nothing, just something I need to think about, if we survive all this."

"…_Lovesick_?"

The summoner's spin stiffened, "What?"

"_Come now, dear one, did you think I wouldn't notice? I know you very well. And, as much as you deny it, you are a beautiful woman. It was only a matter of time before this occurred_."

She shifted, annoyed and uncomfortable, "Yes, well, it hardly matters. I have other things to focus on."

"_Yes, and yet this is occupying many of your thoughts. Trust me, any man who does not value you and your amazing talents is a fool, and any man who is not confident enough to express his feelings for you is a coward_."

"Your just saying that," Rydia said, rolling her eyes.

"_I am not_." Asura retorted, "_And you may tell that ninja king exactly what I said_."

"Wait, how did you-"

Asura laughed lightly, "_Ah Rydia, you should not be surprised by these things_."

The summoner rolled her eyes, but was distracted from her conversation by a familiar presence. She didn't need to turn to know who it was; ever since they had cast Inferno she had been able to tell when he was close to her.

"_Speak of the devil_," Asura mused, "_I shall speak with you later Rydia. Try and rest for Bahamut._"

The connection to the magical land was dropped and Rydia blinked back to reality, cursing Asura for not giving her a chance to say goodbye or prepare for the separation.

She twisted to look over her shoulder and Edge gave her an apologetic look, "Sorry, I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, I just didn't know who you were talking too…"

She couldn't help but wonder how much he'd heard, but she was glad he could only hear her side of the conversation.

She swallowed before saying, "It's alright, I was just checking in with my Eidolons."

There was an awkward pause, "Plus," she added, mostly so the silence wouldn't suffocate her, "I wanted to be away from everyone for a few minutes."

Edge looked to the side, "I can relate," he muttered quietly.

Remembering the last time she'd seen him, she bit her lip and slowly got to feet, cautiously moving as she might have around a startled animal. She was torn between desperately wanting his company and fleeing before he spoke again.

"I should go. I'm sure you want to be alone, too." she finally said, brushing past him.

His fingers gently took hold of her forearm, "Wait,"

She barely heard the request, and when she looked back, she was surprised to see he actually looked afraid she was going to leave.

"You don't have to go," he explained, dropping her arm, "I…don't care one way or the other."

Rydia blinked and then answered just as softly, "If you want me to stay, then I will."

"I do."

She smiled and nodded, walking back into the alcove and taking a seat on the rocky ground again, next to Edge.

For a long time they didn't say anything, and finally he pulled his knees up and commented, "I know you know, you don't have to pretend like you don't. I'm sure someone has told you by now."

Rydia blinked a couple times, wondering what he was referring too when she decided to take a guess.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that all over again."

He laughed dryly, "So everyone keeps saying."

"…I've never lied to you before," she replied.

He looked at her then, and for a spilt second she thought she might have seen the look Kain was talking about. But then his eyes were back on one of the stones and she convinced herself she imagined it.

"No, no you haven't ever lied to me…"

Silence filled the space again and she tried not to fidget when Edge spoke up again, sounding hesitant.

"I wanted to talk to you about it."

Rydia looked up, surprised, and he glanced at her again, making her feel incredibly guilty.

She hung her head, "Actually, Zangestu asked me to talk to you…he didn't tell me why you were upset, he just requested that I spend time with you."

He didn't say anything so she kept talking, fingers tightening into fists in her lap, "But, I heard you talking with Izayoi and I figured that you would be alright…"

He snorted and tiredly rubbed a hand over his eyes, "I love Izayoi dearly but sympathy is not one of her strong suites."

Rydia flinched at the word 'love' but tried not to let it show and swallowed down all her emotions to try and stay in the present.

"I wish I had been talking to you instead," Edge admitted.

She blinked back tears and shrugged one shoulder, "I'm not very good at sympathy either, you know."

"Maybe not, but…you _understand_, and besides, you would have told me what I needed to hear, whether or not I liked it."

"And Izayoi doesn't understand?" she asked, trying not to sound bitter.

He shook his head, "She wasn't in Eblan at the time, and her parents were already dead. I mean, she gets it, but it's just not the same…"

Even being as hurt and angry as she was, he sounded so utterly unhappy that she moved to sit in front of him and caught his eye, "I'm sorry I wasn't around before,"

"I'll forgive you if you explain why you're avoiding me now."

She winced, "I…"

"Remember, you've never lied to me." Edge said, almost sharply.

She swallowed, "I just…I was thinking about…things, I'm sorry if you took it personally. I'm surprised you even noticed."

She tried to shrug off his concern but he just narrowed his eyes at her, "Notice? Of course I noticed, I always know what you're doing. I haven't seen you for days. You are obviously trying to stay away from me."

"I'm sorry."

"I just want to know why," he said, pressing the issue.

Rydia glared at him, annoyed he was pestering her and forcing her to admit something she didn't want too.

"Yes, I was avoiding you. If you wanted my company, you could have sought me out." she threw back at him, standing and walking towards the entrance.

"It is because of the Eidolons?" he asked suddenly, halting her in her steps.

She looked over her shoulder, "What? The Eidolons don't have anything to do with this."

Edge looked away, "I thought…maybe you were upset because we hurt them…I thought maybe that's why you were mad at me."

She turned fully back around, "No Edge, that's not why."

"Then…why?"

She sighed heavily and finally said, "Because, you seem fine without me. You're not alone, you know, and I didn't think that you needed or wanted my companionship anymore."

When he didn't reply at once she chanced a glance at him and saw the puzzled expression on his face.

"Didn't want your companionship?" he repeated slowly, "Crystals Rydia, you're the only person who is honest with me. You're the only person I wanted to talk to the last couple days."

She felt a little uneasy and just stared at him, prompting him to continue, "Even my cousin won't tell me what she thinks anymore without being careful about it."

"You have a cousin?" Rydia said, baffled.

Edge gave her a weird look, "Yeah, Izayoi."

It took a second to filter fully into her brain, and when it did, the information brought a wave of embarrassment, relief and curiosity with it.

"You failed to mention that." she said dryly, not pleased with him for everything he'd put her through the last few weeks.

"Oh, sorry," he said, shrugging it off.

Stifling her emotions for a little bit, she focused instead on her friend and wandered back over to sit down again, "Misunderstandings…we're experts at those, aren't we?" she teased.

Edge chuckled, "Yes, yes we are…"

Rydia glanced at him, "Do you still want me to stay?"

"Please." he said, looking at her with a small smile.

She settled next to him and after a moment he asked, "Does it ever go away?"

"No, not completely." she answered, knowing what he was referring too without having to ask.

Hesitant, he continued, "Do you ever still…cry about it?"

Rydia glanced at him, surprised he would ask something and noticing how he was avoiding looking at her.

"Last year in Mist I finally got this rare flower to grow. It's a fussy little plant, needing heat with shade and just the right amount of water. If it wasn't so beautiful and useful in medicine, I wouldn't have even bothered. Finally it bloomed, a spectacular white flower with purple flecks."

She smiled sadly, "And, the moment I smelled it I remembered that my mother had perfume made out of the oil from the flower, and it reminded me of…her."

Even the memory of the memory brought tears to her eyes and Rydia blinked them back, "So, yes, I do cry sometimes about it."

She looked back to him, and they shared the same pained expression without words. It was the kind of bond she had more and more with him since Inferno, except this one they'd had since the day they'd met.

"I'd rather have that pain and memories then forget about them entirely," Edge said.

She nodded, "Me too."

She gathered her courage and asked softly, "Back when we had to fight the Eidolons, I…got the sense you weren't talking about me sometimes. I wondered if…maybe you still felt guilty, after all this time…"

It was risky to push the topic, but her curiosity and desire to help him made her brave enough to ask.

Edge sighed, "I don't know, sometimes…there's always that question lurking in the back of my mind that asks if I could have done more, or less…"

She shook her head slowly, "I would tell you it's not your fault, but I know that doesn't really make a difference."

"No, it doesn't, but…thank you all the same."

They said nothing more, but Rydia did reach over and take his hand, knowing that if the roles were switched, that would have been what she would have wanted. Just enough contact to make it clear that she wasn't alone, but not so much where she would feel awkward abut it. And judging by the fact he didn't pull away, she had guessed correctly.

* * *

"I am a horrible person," Rydia declared, flopping down to sit next to Gilbert.

He gave her a strange look so she sighed and admitted, "She's his cousin,"

He laughed at her and she crossed her arms, annoyed, "Oh yes, please laugh at my expense since I'm feeling so good about myself as it is."

He looked apologetic, but there was still a smile on his face that was a sure sign of his amusement.

"I'm sorry, Rydia, but you have to admit it is humorous."

"No it isn't!" she argued, sounding so whiney she flinched, "Anyway, I have to tell Izayoi I'm sorry…I've been kind of awful to her and I'm not even sure why…I hope she'll forgive me."

Gilbert shook his head slightly, "That I wouldn't worry about."

"Really? What if she hates me? I really had no right to be so mean to her!"

He frowned, "Were you that mean or did you just think you were? I'm sorry Rydia, but I simply cannot imagine you being cruel."

The summoner sighed and decided not to try and change his mind and instead think up how she wanted to deal with this.

"Anyway, did you tell him how you feel?"

She winced and glared out of the corner of her eye at the bard king, "No, and your not going to either. He doesn't need to know that."

"I think he does."

"I think he doesn't!"

Gilbert sighed, "Very well, I shall keep it a secret. You'd be surprised at how many of those I'm keeping these days."

Rydia shot him a weird look, but before she could ask what he meant, he nudged her and pointed over towards one of the darker corners of the cave.

"Izayoi is alone, now's your chance."

Reluctantly she got to her feet, although she failed to take any steps towards the woman.

"You'll be fine." her friend assured her.

Nodding, she took the first step.

Rydia rehearsed what she was going to say on her way towards Izayoi, still feeling badly about being so mean towards the other woman. Hopefully she wouldn't hold a grudge.

When she reached her, she was caught off guard by the sight of Izayoi actually doing a girly thing and brushing out her long hair. So caught of guard that she forgot why she walked over in the first place until the other woman looked up.

"Can I help you?"

Rydia shook herself, "Oh, um…I actually came to tell you that…"

It wasn't easy for Rydia to admit that she was _wrong_ about something, and she swallowed before continuing.

"I've been sort of…mean to you and I wanted to say that I was sorry. I'm not even sure why I was being like that, but…" she trailed off and bit her lip.

Izayoi stared at her for a long moment, comb working on a tangle, and the summoner started to fidget slightly in worry.

"Apology accepted." she finally said, breaking eye contact and looking the other way.

Rydia blinked and her brow furrowed, "That's…it? Just, accepted?"

"Yes."

The summoner stood there for another second and finally Izayoi turned back, amusement in her eyes, "Sit."

Rydia did as she was instructed, still confused, and joined her on the lumpy rock as the dark haired woman set her comb down.

"I assumed you didn't like me. It was fairly obvious."

Rydia flinched, "I know, I'm sorry…"

"I already accepted your apology." Izayoi replied, rising an eyebrow, "There's no need for another."

She sighed, "I know, but you don't get it. I still feel guilty. I don't even know why I didn't like you! I think I was jealous."

Izayoi laughed, something Rydia had rarely heard her do.

"Of what?" she asked, still snickering.

The summoner frowned, "Of you! You're so…strong and controlled and nothing ever gets to you. You're never scared or worried or upset…"

She nodded slowly and then let her eyes wander over the cavern, "Does this have anything to do with my cousin?"

"What?" Rydia asked, suddenly worried.

Dark eyes fell on her while Izayoi's lips twitched to a smirk, "You don't have to be so startled. I have eyes and ears, and I'm fairly good at using them."

"I don't know what you're getting at." she insisted, crossing her arms stubbornly.

Another giggle, "Of course you don't. But that aside, I'm glad you don't hate me. I thought that perhaps your dislike towards me was because of the battles against your Eidolons. I'm sorry if you thought I was being cruel."

Rydia shook her head, "No, I…actually admire your logic."

"Then we are agreed to get along?"

Now it was the summoner's turn to giggle, "I suppose so."

Izayoi stood, sweeping her hair back into a ponytail, "Good, because I need a hand watching my impulsive cousin."

She rolled her eyes, working the ribbon into her hair, "He does an outrageous amount of stupid things. Can you believe he is the older one between us?"

Rydia smirked, "I'm happy to have your help as well. Now I'm not the only one lecturing him."

Izayoi tossed her a smile and headed for a nearby tunnel as Rydia was thankful the conversation had gone so well. She felt relieved to have Izayoi as a friend instead of an enemy.

"Oh, and High Summoner?"

She turned towards the other woman, "Yes?"

"For what it's worth, I'm glad that it was you."

Rydia frowned, "That what was me?" she asked, completely baffled.

Izayoi chuckled and turned around, shaking her head, "Never mind."

* * *

The core of the strange moon proved that this wasn't a natural space body, nor was it from anywhere near their own planet. Every step they took made the glass like flooring react with a small chime, and briefly lit up all the plant like bulbs suspended from the ceiling and free standing around the hallways.

Rydia glanced over and saw Palom and Tsukinowa examining one of said plants, arguing over if it was alive or not.

"I can tell it is," Tsukinowa insisted, glaring at Palom, who snorted.

"You have to be kidding me! There's no way you can tell, besides, they look kind of metallic, don't they?"

"Maybe it's a metal flower,"

"That's stupid."

The summoner tried not to giggle at the childish fight, and watched as Palom reached out to touch it to prove his theory.

Porom walked by and smacked his hand out of the air, making him glare at her.

"What was that for?" he asked.

Tsukinowa nodded, "Yeah, I wanted to see him get his hand bitten off by the alien flower."

Porom shut her eyes and declared, "You two are idiots."

Rydia looked around the room, taking what might be her last look at her friends. They had guessed they were close to the center of the structure, and if that was the case, then there was little chance they wouldn't met with whoever had decided to destroy their planet.

She noticed Edge was leaning against one of the walls, tapping his foot on the ground and watching it in turn light up a set of foliage near him.

She wandered over and gave him a puzzled look, "I thought you were helping look for doors,"

"I was." he replied, shrugging, "And I found one, so now I'm done."

She made a face, "You found one? Did you tell Cecil?"

"Nope."

Rydia put a hand on her hip, preparing to scold him, but he took his eyes off the bulbs and asked, "Does anyone in this room look ready to go to their deaths?"

"What makes you think we'll die?" she shot back.

Edge gave her a look, "Do you think we won't?"

She didn't reply, having thought about that very same thing on their way here. They had beat the odds once in their life-time, what were the chances of it happening again?

"If we do survive," she said, "what will you do when you back home?"

"Sleep." he answered instantly.

She giggled, "Well, yes, obviously, but after that?"

Edge shrugged, "I don't know, what I was doing before all of this I guess."

"We might save the world a second time," she said, realizing when she said it out loud that it might be true.

"If we do," he interjected, "I want my own airship."

Rydia laughed again, thinking that he was probably dead serious, although she couldn't imagine Cid willingly handing one over when he wouldn't even let the ninja drive one.

"Ouch!" someone cried from behind her.

There was a ruckus laugh that followed, and she sighed, "Palom touched one of those flowers, didn't he?"

"Yup, and Tsukinowa's laughing his head off about it." Edge said, shaking his head a little.

Porom's voice chimed in with a reprimand, but she wasn't loud enough to hear across the room.

"What about you? What will you do should we make it home?" he asked.

Rydia paused, "Well, I would return to Mist and make sure everyone is alright. I am their High Summoner after all. I'd…want to check on the Feymarch, but I doubt Asura will rescind my banishment even for a visit."

She averted her eyes, "And I was thinking about visiting everyone. It would be nice to do so without the threat of world destruction hanging overhead. I…could visit you, in Eblan."

He looked up from fixing a buckle on his arm guard, "How long would you stay?"

"How long am I welcome?" she asked back.

He didn't miss a beat, "Indefinitely."

Rydia chuckled and looked around the room, "I'm afraid you'll have to offer me something better then mere access to a library if you want me to stay forever." she teased.

"I see…Well, I have an empty throne if you want that."

She froze and then turned around to ask him if he was serious. But she didn't need too; the look on his face answered her unspoken question.

She didn't say anything, too confused and surprised to speak, let alone decide what she wanted to say. Part of her was tempted to just answer yes without even thinking about it, but that was insanity so she stopped herself.

Besides, was he really suggesting what she thought he was?

"I…" she started, trying to come up with something to say when he put his finger to her lips, "No, don't answer. I don't want you to say anything because we might die. If we make it back home, tell me your answer, whatever it might be, tell it to me then."

She just stared at him and he finally stepped past her, calling over his shoulder, "Now, I have to announce I found a door before someone else does and thinks their better then me."

Rydia stood still for a few moments and then finally let out a breath she'd been holding.

After the confusion and shock faded, she was slightly annoyed at him for springing that on her now and then just walking away.

She turned and shot a quick glare at his back before following the others onward towards what could be their doom.

"Well, at least it might not matter. I could be dead in a few minutes." she reasoned at a mutter.

* * *

Cuore was a prodigy. She was a wonder child at nearly everything she tried, able to grasp theories and ideas far above her age. Granted, Rydia had no idea who old she actually was. She looked about six but there was no way to tell.

The only thing she couldn't master was the jump rope.

Rydia watched her from the kitchen window as the little girl listened intently to the other children as they explained how it worked. She nodded and then watched them go through a set, eyes analyzing everything as always.

Her turn came but she still failed, frowning at the attempt and trying again.

Asura and Leviathan had just left to return to the Feymarch and the whole village was tinted orange from the sunset that evening.

"Are you mad at me?"

Rydia scowled at nothing, annoyed that he hadn't just left her house yet. She was in fact mad at him, but she didn't feel like explaining why.

"Yes, I am."

"Why?"

She spun away from the window and braced her hands on the end of the table, "Because you didn't tell me!"

Edge looked confused from where he was sitting, across the table, "Tell you what?"

"About Mist!" she snapped, standing up straight and waving her hand around her house, "Exactly how much of your money did you spend to rebuild this place, anyway?"

He frowned and muttered, "Oh, that…"

Rydia just glared at him.

"So, who told you? Rosa? Gilbert?"

She sighed, "It doesn't matter, all I know is that it wasn't you who told me. And now, you invite Asura and Leviathan and you didn't tell me about that, either!"

Edge crossed his arms, "Which one of them told you about that one? They both said they wouldn't say anything. I guess Eidolons can't keep secrets…"

"They shouldn't have too!" she snapped, "You should have told me about both of these things. Why wouldn't you?"

He sighed as well and looked around her house so he wouldn't have to meet her eyes, "I didn't want you to think that I was…I don't know, trying to buy your affections…"

She raised an eyebrow, "Were you?"

He rolled his eyes, "No, I just wanted you to be happy."

"I'm plenty happy," she replied defensively.

He looked unconvinced, "Are you?"

"Of course." she was insulted he would even say such a thing.

"From the moment I met you you've always been…sad and serious. I thought it was just because we were trying to save the world, and people had died, and you lost everything. But, when we won, when we came back, you still weren't happy. And the next time I saw you, the Feymarch had closed itself to you and I thought maybe that was why you looked sad. Mist was back, but you still missed your other home, and then your Eidolons were taken from you and I thought maybe that's why you were sad. But now, we've saved the world twice, escape death more times then I even want to count, freed your Eidolons, rebuilt your home, made peace with your Eidolons and seen them again, your no longer the last summoner and…your still not happy."

He finished with a sigh and then frowned at her, "And would you please stop glaring at me?"

Rydia relented on trying to burn holes in his head and looked away, "I'm perfectly happy, and I don't like you making it sound like I'm not!"

She crossed her arms and turned away as he spoke again, "I don't get why your angry with me…I did these things _for_ you."

She shut her eyes, "I'm angry with you because you didn't need to do anything, because you kept it a secret from me and…because you asked me something on the true moon and now I'm thinking you weren't serious about it."

"You haven't come to visit,"

"I've been busy!"

"It's been three months."

She glared at him again over her shoulder, "And you avoided me for an entire year after Cecil and Rosa's wedding. If we hadn't ended up in the tower by chance, I may not have seen you for a long time."

Edge rolled his eyes, "Oh yes, bring that up again."

"You're the one who-" she stopped herself mid rant and turned away again, back to the window where Cuore was still trying to learn to jump rope.

"If you wanted me to visit, why do everything to keep me away?" she said quietly.

He didn't answer for a few seconds, "Because I didn't think you wanted to visit."

"You are right, I'm not happy." she muttered, looking once more over her shoulder. She smiled ruefully in bitter amusement, "You know, for someone who is always thinking everything is about him, you're being surprising un-vain on this subject."

Edge looked confused so she continued, "All these things you did, I do appreciate them, it's just…I'm not happy because I'm not with you."

"Then why didn't you visit?" he asked, looking at her like she was crazy.

Rydia sighed and walked towards the table and sat down in one of the chairs, "Because, I'm just…confused and I don't even know…"

They both sat for a moment, looking at opposite walls when finally she asked, "Why do we always end up fighting?"

"Because we're good at it," Edge quipped, smiling a little.

She had to chuckle as well, because she agreed that they did have epic fights.

"Izayoi."

"Huh?"

She grinned, "Izayoi told me about the money, and Asura spilled about you inviting them here."

"Damn them both." he muttered, although she suspected he wasn't all that mad.

Softly, so he didn't think she was still mad, Rydia commented, "You should have told me."

Edge shrugged, "I decided to get yelled at later rather then sooner, that's the only difference."

She leaned back in her chair and looked at her hands sitting neatly in her lap, wondering where they went from here. She felt drained from the fighting and she was still a little hurt he'd been keeping such a large secret from her. Besides, knowing how much he had spent to help her made her feel guilty. Guilty she hadn't been nicer to him, guilty that she had accepted it, even if she didn't know.

"May I ask you something?"

She looked up and nodded to him, curious what he would say.

"Do you promise to be honest?" he clarified, grinning a little.

She frowned, "I told you I've never lied to you,"

He nodded and took a visible deep breath before asking, "Do you love me?"

Her eyes widened and she looked away, "Well, that was forward."

"You're already mad, so I figure, why not toss oil on the fire?" he said flippantly.

Rydia shifted and refused to acknowledge the question until he reminded her, "You promised to tell me the truth,"

"Yes, but I never said I would in fact answer the question,"

"Clever, but you're stalling."

"I'm thinking."

"It's not that hard of a question,"

"Then why are you so impatient for the answer?"

There was a long pause and finally she sighed loudly, "You wouldn't have asked if you didn't already know the answer to it."

"I'm still waiting for that answer."

He was smirking, which told he was being so irritating on purpose, and it only served to make her more stubborn in refusing.

But finally she let herself collapse against the back of her chair and whisper, "Yes, I do."

"Good," he said, "because that would have been awkward if you were queen and didn't."

"I never gave you an answer for that!" she retorted, sitting up, "And I don't intend too unless you answer something for me."

"I guess that's only fair." he admitted, sounding dejected with the idea.

Rydia smiled a little, "Do you love me?"

"Isn't that obvious?"

"Now you're the one stalling."

"I'm thinking."

"About what?"

Edge narrowed his eyes at her, but he looked more amused then anything, "Whether I want to answer that question or just kiss you to make you shut up."

"You assume I would let you," she shot back, rolling her eyes and tossing a handful of hair over her shoulder.

Despite the extremely important information that had just been exchanged, there was a lightness in the air. Rydia suspected it was because no great secrets had been revealed; on some level they both already knew they loved each other, and there was little else to say about it.

They both smiled and he finally said, "But yes, I do Rydia."

"So now what?" she asked, holding up a hand.

Edge shrugged, "Now you need to say something about what I offered you on the moon."

"It's not that simple," she complained, shaking her head, "I wish it were, but it's just not."

"You're stalling again," he chided.

Rydia scowled, "I am not, I'm being realistic. You're a king, your people don't like outsiders and I'm pretty strange, you have to admit. And what about Cuore? And Mist? I'm High Summoner here, without me there's no one to protect the village."

In her haste to list all the reasons why anything between them wouldn't work, she hadn't noticed he had stood up until he was right in front of her.

"Are you done listing excuses?"

Rydia frowned up at him, "They aren't excuses, they're legitimate reasons."

He sighed heavily as if annoyed with her, "No, they aren't. I'm a king, which means I can make up any rule I want too. Everyone loves you back home because you stopped a _giant flaming monster_ from killing them. I assumed you would bring Cuore with you, you know full well I adore her. And lastly, not to downplay your role as High Summoner, but what, exactly, are you protecting this village from?"

"But-" she started to say, although he cut her off.

"Plus, you aren't even jealous of Izayoi anymore."

Her eyes widened, "Who told you about that?"

Edge laughed, "Kain."

"Damn him!" she swore, pounding her fist on the table.

He snickered, "Trust me, that was a very strange conversation and one I was not expecting."

Despite being mad at the dragoon, she hadn't actually sworn him to secrecy, so she couldn't complain.

Edge knelt in front of her, "So, are you done making excuses? Because I think we've wasted enough time."

Rydia sighed and hung her head, "I suppose we have…I guess I'm just…scared."

"All I ask is that you keep that promise of a visit, that's it. We'll go from there." he said, taking her hands.

"Alright, I'll visit." she whispered, smiling at him.

As an afterthought, she lifted her chin and added, "And no, in answer to what you said on the moon. I don't want that throne, but if I'm marrying you, I guess I have too take it, don't I?"

"Who said I would have you?" he asked, making a face at her.

She grinned, "The real question is who would have _you_?"

He chuckled, and she in turn giggled, still trying to fall into this new role.

"Now," Edge said after a moment, "one last question High Summoner Rydia."

"What?"

"May I kiss you? I've been waiting for _years_ to do that."

She blushed and laughed nervously, "Oh…well, I see no reason to say no, just…make me a promise first?"

He nodded, and Rydia smirked, "Never, ever, under any circumstances go to the Tower of Babil by yourself from here on out. You get into all sorts of trouble when you do."

Edge laughed, "Okay, fair enough. I promise."

"Then kiss me."

In her whole life she had never been kissed, and although she wasn't sure she wanted to admit such a thing, she decided that waiting for this peculiar moment wasn't all bad.

The actual amount of time that passed she didn't know, but all too soon they heard a maniacal giggling that made her push him away so she could see the door.

"Cuore!" the summoner exclaimed, embarrassed at being caught.

The little girl was trying to stifle her laughter behind her hands, but she had a decidedly mischievous look in her eyes.

"Yay! Finally!" she said, clapping her hands.

Edge narrowed his eyes, "Finally…what?"

The little girl swayed on her feet and clasped her hands behind her back, "Well, I was wondering what was taking you two so long to get together, so I told Izayoi and Kain and Asura to talk to you and tell you stuff so you'd get together!"

They both stared at her, dumbfounded.

"What sort of hellish creature have we unleashed on the world." Edge commented sarcastically, although he was eyeing her.

Cuore giggled again and Rydia shook her head, "You told them to push us into it?"

"Because you guys _love_ each other," she cooed.

"Alright, that's it. I'm going to get you," Edge said, getting to his feet.

Cuore shrieked and ran out the door, giggling, and he followed her.

Rydia laughed and hurried to the door, wanting to see the chase that was in full swing by the time she reached it. The ironic thing was that Cuore was actually a challenge to catch; she knew from personal experience.

As she watched them play in the yard, and then in the street, and then back again, she smiled and leaned against the doorframe.

For once since fire had consumed everything in her world, that same world felt whole again and complete.

It didn't matter if the world ended the next day, or one thousand years from that moment, because, for once, she was happy.

* * *

**Author's Note: And there you have it, this LONG story is done. I'm not sure I'm 100% happy with the ending, but...all well, it is what it is.**

**Explanation time!**

**Yes, I re-named the spoony bard to his japanese name Gilbert. **

**Yes, I made up a back story for Izayoi. Her and the other three ninjas need them. **

**There's a bunch of stuff in here that I know seems like the 'start' of something, but I am NOT promising another story and I'm also NOT saying there won't be one.**

**Be proud of me. I managed to only make fun of Kain a little bit! **

**I also have re-written the Creator's motive, because in the game it's just...lame. And not scary. I also pretend the Maenads talk like the Borg from Star Trek, using only 'we' and 'us'. So, not that it matters, but in my head it's all different.**

**I think that's it, hope everyone has enjoyed this!**


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